Dr. Girolamo Pelaia and his colleagues at Università Magna Graecia in Catanzaro, Italy, recently conducted a small study that showed promising results. In their analysis, they discovered that Benralizumab is effective for typically undertreated patients with severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA). The study, released online April 19, 2025, in the medical journal CHEST, studied 1,070 patients. These patients received care between 2018 and 2023.
The cohort of antitrust participants was varied and inclusive. Out of these, 662 were biologic naive while 404 had prior experience with biologic agents. Their study had two primary objectives, to calculate clinical remission rates for these patients at 2, 4, 6 and 12 months. It looked at all important things including preventing exacerbations, withdrawal of maintenance oral corticosteroids and total asthma control.
Study Design and Patient Demographics
Our patient cohort had a mean age of 55.2 years. Women made up the majority, representing 58.7% of individuals. At baseline, 55% of the patients were on maintenance oral corticosteroids, reflecting high disease burden. We were able to only measure the major outcomes at weeks 0, 48, and 96. Clinical remission was defined by the presence of no exacerbations, normal lung function at rest, and well-controlled asthma.
At baseline, just 0.4% of study participants were in clinical remission. Considerable improvements seemed by week 48, with 39% of participants getting remission. This figure, though, decreased a tad to 31% by week 96. These findings underscore the need for continuous tracking and patient support during treatment.
Efficacy Based on Treatment History
Notable outcomes included the findings that biologic naïve patients had higher remission rates. They achieved 36.0%, whereas those with prior experience with biologics only achieved a rate of 23.0%. The percentage of patients who achieved chronic corticosteroid free status more than doubled. It increased from 65% at baseline to 76% at both week 48 and week 96.
Exacerbation-free status showed significant improvement as well. At baseline, less than 4% of patients were exacerbation-free. By week 48, that percentage increased to 72% although it did go back down to 60% by week 96. These findings highlight the importance and value of early intervention to control SEA.
Insights and Implications
When it comes to bringing these findings to bear in clinical practice, Dr. Pelaia stressed the importance of a collaborative approach.
“Outcomes were maintained irrespective of previous biologic use and key baseline characteristics that clinicians typically consider in their therapeutic decision-making. Patients with lower disease burden were more likely to achieve clinical remission, reinforcing the importance of early treatment intervention.” – Girolamo Pelaia, MD, Università Magna Graecia in Catanzaro, Italy.
The research found that reaching remission at week 96 relied on a few important factors. These were the use of lower maintenance corticosteroid doses, a lower BMI and a higher baseline blood eosinophil count. These nuanced findings can help inform healthcare providers on how to better customize treatments for patients with severe asthma.
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