First new asthma attack treatment in 50 years

Researchers have announced they have discovered a new treatment for asthma attacks for the first time in 50 years.

The injection weakens a part of the immune system that can go into overdrive in flare-ups of both asthma and a lung disease called chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Benralizumab is already used in the most severe cases, but the latest research suggests it may be routinely used in around 2 million attacks each year in the UK.

The King's College London research team said the drug was a “game changer” with the potential to “revolutionize” treatment.

This discovery stems from the realization that not all asthma and COPD attacks are the same. Instead, different parts of the immune system are overreacting in each patient.

Professor Mona Buffadel, from King's University, said: “Now that we know there are different patterns of inflammation, we can be smarter and get the right treatment to the right patient at the right time.”

Benralizumab targets a type of white blood cell called eosinophils that can cause inflammation and damage to the lungs.

Eosinophils are involved in about half of asthma attacks and one-third of COPD flare-ups.

Doctors now prescribe steroids when such attacks, which include difficulty breathing, wheezing, coughing, and chest tightness, cannot be controlled with regular inhalers.

The study involved 158 people and monitored patients for flare-ups for three months after treatment.

According to results from The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, treatment failure rates are:

• 74% when taking steroids
• 45% for new treatments

People treated with the new treatment were less likely to be hospitalized, need another treatment, or die.

Professor Buffadell said this could benefit a huge number of people, as two million attacks a year is “not a small number”.

“This is a game-changer. Treatment hasn't changed for 50 years. It will revolutionize the way we treat people when they're really unwell,” Professor Bafadel said.

Volunteers also reported that the new drug improved their symptoms and improved their quality of life.

Alison Spooner, 55, from Oxfordshire, was among those taking part in the trial. She has had asthma since childhood, but over the past five years it has gotten worse and she has had three major attacks.

“The symptoms seemed to be getting worse and the severe shortness of breath while gasping was pretty scary and there was nothing to gasp for,” she told me.

Alison said she felt “dramatically different” after the injection and still uses her inhaler “because I was told to do it”.

“Unfortunately, there is no drug that completely cures asthma, but this is the closest we get. It's actually a bit of a miracle,” she added.

Benralizumab is not ready for large-scale use.

Large-scale trials, scheduled to begin in 2025 and lasting for two years, will be needed to confirm whether the drug is truly effective. People who are already receiving these drugs should continue to follow their prescriptions.

Monoclonal antibodies such as this treatment are expensive drugs, so the study also needs to assess cost-effectiveness.

But Dr Sanjay Ramakrishnan, from the University of Oxford, said the research so far “shows great promise” and said that despite COPD being one of the leading causes of death worldwide, treatment for COPD is “We're stuck in the 20th century.”

Long-term use of steroids is associated with side effects such as weight gain, diabetes, and bone weakness.

Geoffrey Pointing, 77, from Oxfordshire, who also took part in the trial, said: “I didn't experience any of the side effects that I had with previous steroid tablets.

“I didn't sleep well the first night I took the steroids, but by the first day of the study I was able to sleep and get on with my life without any problems.”

It is estimated that 4 people with asthma and 85 people with COPD die every day in the UK.

Dr Samantha Walker, from charity Asthma + Lung UK, said the results were “fantastic news”.

“But the fact that this is the first new treatment for people suffering from asthma and COPD attacks in 50 years is frightening,” she said.