New analyses support Fasenra effectiveness in severe eosinophilic asthma

New findings from the XALOC program support the real-world effectiveness of UK pharma major AstraZeneca’s (LSE: AZN) Fasenra (benralizumab) in the management of patients with severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA), showing reductions in annualized asthma exacerbation rate (AAER), improvements in asthma control and the ability to achieve clinical remission.

Fasenra is one of AstraZeneca's key drugs driving its sales growth. The drug recorded sales of $1.25 billion in 2021, and $662 million in the first half of this year. However, it is competing in the sector with other blockbuster products, notably Sanofi (Euronext: SAN) and Regeneron’s (Nasdaq: REGN) Dupixent (dupilumab), and UK pharma major GSK’s (LSE: GSK) Nucala (mepolizumab).

Results from the first integrated multi-country retrospective analysis from XALOC-1 showed that Fasenra treatment was associated with an AAER reduction of 84%, at Week 48 (AAER 0.54 [95% confidence interval {CI}: 0.47, 0.63]), compared to baseline (AAER 3.37 [95% CI: 3.17, 3.58]), in an overall patient population with SEA and more than 12 months of Fasenra treatment. Additionally, a reduction in AAER of 79%–91% was observed across patient subgroups, regardless of atopic status, CRSwNP comorbidity, maintenance oral corticosteroid (OCS) use, fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and blood eosinophil cut-offs. The XALOC-1 analysis included 797 patients with SEA.