New Analyses of Two International Clinical Trials Predict Response to Asthma Drug Benralizumab by Subpopulation of Patients with COPD.

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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is the third leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the American Lung Association. More than 15.3 million people in this country suffer from it and they often experience potentially life-threatening exacerbations, which can include days-long flare-ups of symptoms including shortness of breath that occur when the airways narrow from muscle tightness, swelling and mucus.

Results from two Phase III, international clinical trials named GALATHEA and TERRANOVA that were published in May by the New England Journal of Medicine, presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference 2019, and co-led by Temple’s Gerard J. Criner, MD, FACP, FACCP showed that the asthma drug benralizumab failed to decrease annual COPD exacerbation rates for patients with moderate to very severe COPD, a history of frequent moderate and/or severe exacerbations, and eosinophilic inflammation.

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