Severe Asthma Standard-of-Care Background Medication Reduction With Benralizumab: ANDHI in Practice Substudy

Area of Science:

• Pulmonology and Respiratory Medicine
• Clinical Pharmacology
• Immunotherapy

Background:

• The ANDHI double-blind (DB) study evaluated benralizumab efficacy in severe eosinophilic asthma.
• The ANDHI in Practice (IP) extension substudy assessed medication reduction potential in patients continuing benralizumab treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the potential for reducing standard-of-care background asthma medications.
• To assess if asthma control can be maintained while reducing medications with benralizumab therapy.

Main Methods:

• Adult patients completing the ANDHI DB study were enrolled in the 56-week ANDHI IP open-label extension.
• Patients underwent an 8-week run-in with benralizumab, followed by visits to potentially reduce background asthma medications.
• Outcomes included medication reduction proportions and Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) step changes for non-oral corticosteroid (OCS)-dependent patients, and OCS dosage reduction for OCS-dependent patients.

Main Results:

• In non-OCS-dependent patients, 53.3% achieved at least one background medication reduction, rising to 72.6% for those maintaining control at EOT.
• 41.9% of non-OCS-dependent patients achieved a GINA step reduction, increasing to 61.8% for those with sustained control.
• Among OCS-dependent patients, 50.5% eliminated OCS entirely, and 74.7% achieved an OCS dosage of 5 mg or lower at EOT.

Conclusions:

• Benralizumab demonstrates efficacy in improving asthma control, facilitating significant reductions in background medication use.
• The findings support benralizumab's role in enabling patients to reduce their reliance on OCS and other asthma medications.