TUESDAY, Dec. 10, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Benralizumab can be used for the treatment of acute eosinophilic exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study published online Nov. 27 in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
Sanjay Ramakrishnan, M.B.B.S., from the University of Western Australia in Perth, and colleagues enrolled patients with blood eosinophil counts of ≥300 cells/µL at the time of an exacerbation of asthma or COPD and randomly assigned them to receive acute treatment with prednisolone 30 mg once daily for five days and 100 mg benralizumab subcutaneous injection once (BENRA plus PRED group; 52 patients); placebo tablets for five days plus 100 mg benralizumab subcutaneous injection once (BENRA group; 53 patients); or prednisolone 30 mg once daily for five days plus placebo subcutaneous injection once (PRED group; 53 patients). The proportion of treatment failures over 90 days and total visual analog scale (VAS) symptoms at day 28 were compared in the pooled BENRA groups and the PRED group.
The researchers found that treatment failures occurred in 74 and 45 percent of patients in the PRED and pooled BENRA groups, respectively, at 90 days (odds ratio, 0.26). The total VAS mean difference was 49 mm at day 28, favoring the pooled BENRA groups. No fatal adverse events occurred, and benralizumab was well tolerated.
“The ABRA [Acute exacerbations treated with BenRAlizumab] study is the first trial to target the eosinophilic treatable trait, during exacerbations,” the authors write. “This study shows that benralizumab is effective as an acute treatment of eosinophilic exacerbation.”
Several authors disclosed ties to biopharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, which manufactures benralizumab and funded the study.
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