Date: 2014-09-08
Type of information: Publication of results in a medical journal
phase: 2a
Announcement: publication of results in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine
Company: AstraZeneca (UK)
Product: benralizumab
Action
mechanism: Benralizumab is a monoclonal antibody directed at the alpha subunit of the interleukin-5 receptor (IL-5Rα) that depletes eosinophils, a key target cell in inflammatory respiratory disease. Emerging evidence shows that for patients with elevated eosinophil counts, treatment with an IL-5 inhibitor in addition to guideline-based strategies may improve their asthma control and decrease the frequency of asthma attacks.
This antibody is in-licensed from BioWa, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd. Under the exclusive license agreement, Kyowa Hakko Kirin/BioWa have exclusive development and commercialisation rights for benralizumab in Japan and certain countries in Asia. AstraZeneca has exclusive rights for benralizumab in all other countries including the US and Europe. BioWa is eligible for milestone payments and royalties related to the development and commercialisation of benralizumab in those countries.
Disease: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Therapeutic area: Inflammatory diseases - Respiratory diseases
Country:
Trial details:
Latest
news: * On September 8, 2014, AstraZeneca 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).
The study, conducted by MedImmune, the company’s global biologics research and development arm, 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 hospitalisation 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.
In addition, in the pre-specified analyses, the study indicated that benralizumab reduced COPD exacerbations and improved other symptoms of COPD in certain patient groups. Patients treated with benralizumab who had higher baseline levels of eosinophils in their blood showed greater improvements in COPD symptoms, including exacerbation rate, lung function and disease-specific health status as measured by the Saint George’s Respiratory Questionnaire-COPD (SGRQ-C) versus placebo-treated subjects.
There was a higher incidence of serious treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) in the benralizumab group compared with placebo (14 vs 9). Overall, TEAEs were similar across treatment and placebo groups.
AstraZeneca announced the start of the Phase III programme for benralizumab in COPD at the company’s second quarter and half year results on 31 July 2014.
