ERS 2014: Encouraging new data with AstraZeneca's benralizumab

Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) today announced that The Lancet Respiratory Medicine has published encouraging safety and efficacy data from a Phase IIa study evaluating its novel investigational monoclonal antibody benralizumab in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

These data will be presented today at the 2014 European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress in Munich, Germany, along with key data from AstraZeneca’s broad respiratory portfolio. Benralizumab is in-licensed from BioWa, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Japanese drugmaker Kyowa Hakko Kirin (TYO: 41521) in territories including the USA and Europe. Benralizumab is one of several highlighted in AstraZeneca’s case for continued independence as it was fighting off the aborted takeover attempt by Pfizer, projecting group sales of $45 billion by 2023.

The study, conducted by AstraZeneca’s biologics subsidiary MedImmune, evaluated the safety and efficacy of benralizumab in 101 adults with moderate-to-severe COPD and experiencing at least one acute exacerbation requiring oral corticosteroids, antibiotics, or hospitalization in the past year. The overall patient population for the study was selected on the basis of elevated levels of eosinophils in sputum.  The primary endpoint in the study was not met, as benralizumab did not reduce the acute exacerbation rate compared with placebo in the overall patient population. However, benralizumab demonstrated clinically significant improvements in lung function in the overall population.