Among patients with severe asthma, treatment with biologics was associated with improved asthma outcomes across all age groups, according to results presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) annual meeting, held from February 23 to 26 in Washington, DC.
The CHRONICLE study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03373045) is an ongoing, non-interventional, prospective, cohort study of adults with severe asthma who are currently receiving care from a specialist physician. Patients were eligible for the study if they had severe asthma for at least 12 months, were uncontrolled while receiving high-dose inhaled corticosteroids with additional controllers, and/or required systemic corticosteroids or monoclonal antibody therapy.
To better understand the effectiveness of biologic therapy on patients with severe asthma, the researchers examined data from patients enrolled from February 2018 to February 2023 who had started a biologic. Annualized asthma exacerbation rates were compared by age group (18-49, 50-64, ≥65 years) and by biologic type (anti-immunoglobulin E [IgE] vs other biologics [anti-interleukin-5/5R/4Rs or antithymic stromal lymphopoietin]) 6 months before and after initiation of treatment.
Results showed annualized asthma exacerbation rates were reduced in all age groups 6 months after compared with 6 months before initiating a biologic. Exacerbation rate reductions were found to trend higher among patients who received other biologics compared with those who received anti-IgE, respectively:
- 18 to 49 years of age: 61% (P <.0001) vs 40%
- 50 to 64 years of age: 52% (P <.0001) vs 49% (P <.01)
- ≥65 years of age: 58% (P <.0001) vs 51%
Study authors concluded that “Biologic use improved asthma outcomes in adult patients with [severe asthma] in all age groups, without evidence of reduced effectiveness in older age. A trend of slightly reduced effectiveness of anti-IgE vs other biologics was observed.”
Disclosure: Some of the study authors declared affiliations with biotech, pharmaceutical, and/or device companies. Please see the original reference for a full list of authors’ disclosures.
This article originally appeared on MPR.
