Novel cytokine-directed therapies for asthma

For the majority of asthmatic patients, inhaled corticosteroid anti-inflammatory therapy is effective at controlling disease symptoms. However, this requires life-time therapy while a subset of patients remains symptomatic despite optimal treatment creating a clear unmet medical need. Biopharmaceutical approaches have been used to target key elements in the complex pro-inflammatory processes controlling pro-inflammatory cell accumulation and the secretory function of these and structural cells within the asthmatic lung. Asthma-relevant cytokines or chemokines have been targeted in a number of ways. These include the use of humanized blocking mAb to their receptors, removal of cytokines or chemokines via their binding to soluble receptors or small molecule receptor antagonists. Other approaches include the development of biologics that block specific bioactive agents such as IgE. This review will discuss the current status, therapeutic potential and potential problems of these novel drug biologics in asthma therapy.