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Liath Guetta (pulmonologist)
An English study reveals that benralizumab, administered to patients suffering from severe asthma, gives better results than oral steroids during attacks. This injectable treatment, marketed by AstraZeneca under the name Fasenra, could be a game-changer but it remains expensive, according to Dr. Liath Guetta, pulmonologist.
A new study by researchers at King’s College London demonstrates the effectiveness of benralizumab, an injectable treatment given to patients with severe asthma.
A monoclonal antibody more effective than steroid tablet treatment
Severe asthma attacks represent almost half of serious asthma episodes and 30% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) flare-ups. The symptoms are well known: wheezing, chest tightness and coughing. These serious episodes therefore often lead patients to be hospitalized.
A new treatment could significantly improve their quality of life. This is benralizumab, a monoclonal antibody that directly targets eosinophils, the white blood cells responsible for lung inflammation.
Four times less risk of failure
In this study, 158 patients received an injection of benralizumab during their severe attacks. In 28 days, their respiratory symptoms significantly improved. And after 90 days, the number of treatment failures was four times lower than that observed in patients treated with usual oral steroids, according to the researchers.
“Our research shows tremendous promise for the treatment of asthma and COPD [bronchopneumopathie chronique obstructive, une forme grave de bronchite, ndlr]” says Dr Sanjay Ramakrishnan, one of the study’s authors, in a statement released by King’s College.
A treatment that can be administered during the crisis
Usually, treatment for a severe asthma attack involves taking steroid tablets. While they reduce lung inflammation, these treatments can cause serious side effects, such as an increased risk of diabetes and osteoporosis.
Benralizumab, on the other hand, could be administered urgently to patients and would reduce the number of complications. Researchers indicate that this treatment could become the systematic solution to treat the approximately two million asthma attacks in the country each year. Mona Bafadhel, researcher at King’s College, underlined the importance of this progress: ““It’s going to revolutionize the way we treat people when they’re really sick.”
What about in France?
Asked about the subject, Dr Liath Guetta, pulmonologist, explains that the treatment also exists in France. “This treatment has been available in France for some time now, it is marketed under the name Fasenra. It is prescribed to patients with severe persistent asthma, usually by hospital doctors“.
Will this drug become widespread in France? “Although it is very effective, the main obstacle to this molecule, which is a monoclonal antibody, is its price” explains the specialist. “It costs around 1000 euros for an injection. This can be done urgently, when the patient risks ending up in intensive care, but it will not replace, for all patients concerned, steroid tablets which cost much less.“.
Remember that each year worldwide, respiratory diseases cause nearly 3.8 million deaths.