A drug being developed by AstraZeneca and Amgen significantly reduced the frequency of asthma attacks in patients with severe asthma, the drugmakers said Nov. 10.
The drug, tezepelumab, is designed to treat severe asthma in patients with low levels of a certain type of white blood cell called an eosinophil. The phase 3 trial showed the drug reduced the number of asthma attacks compared to the standard treatment, a steroid inhaler.
AstraZeneca and Amgen said the drug was very well tolerated in patients, and the trial revealed no significant safety concerns.
"Due to the complex nature of severe asthma, many patients continue to face debilitating symptoms despite receiving standard of care inhaled medicines and currently approved biologics. Today’s groundbreaking results show that tezepelumab has the potential to transform care for a broad population of severe asthma patients who are underserved today, including those without an eosinophilic phenotype," said Andrew Menzies-Gow, a respiratory physician at Royal Brompton Hospital in the U.K.
The drugmakers said about 34 million people worldwide have severe asthma. They said they plan to announce full results of the study at a future medical meeting.
Read the full news release here.