Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

The last decade has seen the approval of several new biologics for the treatment of severe asthma-targeting specific endotypes and phenotypes. This review will examine how evidence generated from the mepolizumab clinical development program showed that blood eosinophil counts, rather than sputum or tissue eosinophil counts, evolved as a pharmacodynamic and predictive biomarker for the efficacy of treatment with mepolizumab in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma. Based on the available evidence and combined with clinical judgement, a baseline blood eosinophil threshold of 150 cells/μL or greater or a historical blood eosinophil threshold of 300 cells/μL or greater will allow selection of patients with severe eosinophilic asthma who are most likely to achieve clinically significant reductions in the rate of exacerbations with mepolizumab treatment.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.jaci.2017.10.005

Type

Journal article

Journal

The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology

Publication Date

05/12/2017

Volume

140

Pages

1509 - 1518

Addresses

Respiratory Therapeutic Area, GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park, NC. Electronic address: steve.w.yancey@gsk.com.

Keywords

Blood Cells, Eosinophils, Sputum, Animals, Humans, Asthma, Pulmonary Eosinophilia, Disease Progression, Anti-Asthmatic Agents, Interleukin-5, Leukocyte Count, Severity of Illness Index, Predictive Value of Tests, Biomarkers, Pharmacological, Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized