Benralizumab Improves Health-Related QoL Measures in Severe Eosinophilic Asthma

This article is part of MPR’s coverage of the American Thoracic Society Virtual 2020 meeting.

Patients with severe eosinophilic asthma who received benralizumab experienced significant improvements in several health-related quality of life measures, according to the results of a Phase 3b trial (ANDHI; ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03170271) presented virtually at the American Thoracic Society Virtual meeting, held August 5 to 10, 2020.

Annualized asthma exacerbation rate and changes from baseline to week 24 in St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) score, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁), and Asthma Control Questionnaire 6 (ACQ-6) results were compared between groups of adults with severe eosinophilic asthma who were randomly assigned to receive benralizumab or placebo. In addition, changes in Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22 (SNOT-22) were examined for a subset of patients with a history of nasal polyposis.

Of the 656 patients with severe eosinophilic asthma, 427 received benralizumab and 229 received placebo. There were no significant differences noted in patient demographics between the 2 groups. Baseline annualized asthma exacerbation rates were 3.2 and 3.1 for benralizumab and placebo groups, respectively. In the primary study outcome, benralizumab significantly improved asthma exacerbation rates, decreasing 49% compared with placebo (0.94 vs 1.86; P ≤.0001).

Additionally, there was a clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvement in least-squares mean change in SGRQ total score at Week 24 vs placebo (P ≤.0001), as well as ACQ-6 and SNOT-22. Safety was similar between the groups, with adverse events such as headache, nasopharyngitis, sinusitis, pyrexia, and bronchitis reported in 63.5% of patients who received benralizumab vs 62.4% of patients who received placebo.

The study authors wrote that the “results extend benralizumab’s efficacy and safety profile for severe asthma patients, including differences observed at first time point in lung function and disease specific [health-related quality of life], effects on [nasal polyposis], and safety comparable with previous studies.”

Disclosure: This clinical trial was supported by AstraZeneca. Please see the original reference for a full list of authors’ disclosures.

Reference

Harrison TW, Chanez P, Menzella F, et al. Exacerbation reduction and early and sustained improvements in SGRQ, lung function, and symptoms of nasal polyposis with benralizumab for severe, eosinophilic asthma: phase IIIb ANDHI Trial. Presented at: American Thoracic Society 2020 Virtual; August 5-10, 2020. Abstract #721. 

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This article originally appeared on Pulmonology Advisor