Nucala study in eosinophilic asthma published in JACI.- GSK.

GlaxoSmithKline announced results from an indirect treatment comparison of the licensed doses of Nucala (mepolizumab), versus benralizumab and reslizumab in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma. The data, published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI), showed that in patients with similar blood eosinophil counts, mepolizumab significantly reduced clinically significant exacerbations and improved asthma control compared with both benralizumab and reslizumab.

Results from the primary data analysis demonstrated that patients treated with Nucala experienced a reduction in clinically significant exacerbations compared to both benralizumab and reslizumab across all eosinophil levels in the adjusted analysis. Reduction of exacerbations is important because this sudden worsening results in greater difficulty breathing, which in the worst cases can be life-threatening and lungs can suffer long-term damage: Mepolizumab reduced clinically significant exacerbations by 34%�45% versus benralizumab across subgroups (at least 400cells/�L- 45%, at least 300cells/�L-39%, at least 150cells/�L-34%). In addition, mepolizumab reduced clinically significant exacerbations by 45% versus reslizumab in the at least 400cells/�L subgroup.

Mepolizumab also demonstrated significantly greater improvements in asthma control as assessed by the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) score, compared with reslizumab and benralizumab in the adjusted analysis by baseline blood eosinophils. There were no significant differences between mepolizumab and benralizumab or reslizumab in lung function measured by change from baseline in pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) or on reducing exacerbations requiring emergency room visits and/or hospitalisation.