An experimental medicine from AstraZeneca and Amgen significantly reduced the frequency of asthma attacks when added to standard treatment, achieving the goals of a late-stage clinical trial involving patients with severe asthma, the companies announced Tuesday.
The AstraZeneca/Amgen drug — a once-monthly antibody injection called tezepelumab — was also shown to be effective in curbing asthma attacks in patients with low levels of eosinophils, a type of inflammatory white blood cell. This outcome could prove to be an important distinction because currently approved antibody treatments for severe asthma like Regeneron Pharma’s Dupixent work poorly in low-eosinophil asthma patients.
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