Long-term treatment of severe asthma with dupilumab supports sustained reduction in oral corticosteroid (OCS) dosage and improvement in clinical endpoints for up to 96 weeks, according to a study published in CHEST. Lawrence D. Sher, MD, and colleagues assessed whether the reduction in OCS use and the clinical efficacy of dupilumab treatment is maintained long-term in patients with severe, OCS-dependent asthma. The analysis included 187 patients previously enrolled in a dupilumab clinical trial. At baseline, the mean daily OCS dosage was 3.1 mg/day and 6.4 mg/day for the dupilumab/dupilumab group and placebo/dupilumab group, respectively. At week 48, OCS decreased to 2.2 mg/day and 4.9 mg/day (78.3% and 53.4% reductions, respectively), which further declined to 1.2 mg/day and 3.0 mg/day (89.3% and 74.4% reductions, respectively) at week 96. Exacerbation rates were low, and further improvements were seen for FEV1 and five-item Asthma Control Questionnaire scores. Safety findings were consistent with the established dupilumab safety profile.
