Responses more frequent in initiators than noninitiators, but 40 to 50 percent of initiators did not meet response criteria<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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FRIDAY, June 28, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Patients with severe asthma initiating biologics exhibit clinical responses and super-responses, but 40 to 50 percent do not meet response criteria, according to a study published online June 22 in Allergy<\/em>.<\/p>\n Eve Denton, M.B.B.S., from Alfred Health in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues examined responsiveness to biologics in a real-world population of adults with severe asthma. Participants in the International Severe Asthma Registry (ISAR) with \u00e2\u0089\u00a524\u00e2\u0080\u0089weeks of follow-up were categorized as those who initiated or did not initiate biologics. Treatment responses were examined in various domains: forced expiratory volume in one\u00e2\u0080\u0089second (FEV1<\/sub>) increase by \u00e2\u0089\u00a5100\u00e2\u0080\u0089mL, improved asthma control, annualized exacerbation rate (AER) reduction \u00e2\u0089\u00a550 percent, and any long-term oral corticosteroids (LTOCS) dose reduction. Overall, 5.3 percent of the patients in ISAR met the inclusion criteria for the trial; 2,116 of 8,451 initiated biologics.<\/p>\n The researchers found that compared with noninitiators, biologic initiators had worse baseline impairment, despite having similar biomarker levels. Of the initiators, about half or more had treatment responses: 59 percent AER reduction, 54 percent FEV1<\/sub> increase, 49 percent improved control, and 49 percent reduced LTOCS; of these, 32, 19, 30, and 39 percent, respectively, were super-responses. Compared with noninitiators, biologic initiators more often had responses\/super-responses; however, about 40 to 50 percent of initiators did not meet the criteria for response.<\/p>\n “These findings justify further research to determine whether initiating biologics earlier — before asthma causes irreversible lung damage — may increase the likelihood of achieving a response or super-response,” the authors write.<\/p>\n Several authors disclosed ties to biopharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca and Optimum Patient Care Ltd., which funded the study.<\/p>\n