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Approximately 300 million people worldwide suffer from asthma – a respiratory condition where inflammation causes breathlessness, chest tightness, and wheezing. Despite advances in modern medicine, significant numbers of asthma sufferers continue to experience symptoms that can prove challenging to manage.
AstraZeneca and Amgen’s joint asthma drug venture, Tezepelumab, is a biological drug that has shown great promise in reducing asthma attacks. The drug targets the proteins that trigger asthma, rather than just treating the symptoms of asthma inflammation. Tezepelumab is taken as an injection every four weeks and is aimed at patients with the most severe forms of asthma.
Recently, the drug has picked up backing from England’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for use within the National Health Service (NHS). This is great news, as it provides patients in England with access to a more effective treatment option for their asthma.
The decision from NICE followed the results of an extensive trial process that showed how Tezepelumab could help improve asthma symptoms such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. It also revealed that by using Tezepelumab, patients could reduce their rate of exacerbations by up to 71%, regardless of their baseline blood eosinophil counts. Given that exacerbations present one of the most severe and fatal symptoms of asthma, these results are significant.
NICE’s decision recognized the urgency of providing patients in England with access to affordable, innovative treatments that can provide real benefits, and that Tezepelumab is one such treatment. AstraZeneca and Amgen’s collaboration should help enhance the way in which asthma is treated, and bring asthma sufferers relief from the debilitating effects of their asthma symptoms.
Looking ahead, the Tezepelumab is also being considered for approval in other markets. If approved, it would be the first biological drug available to patients that does not rely on eosinophil counts as a prognostic indicator of asthma severity. This could represent a significant step forward in helping more patients access and leverage this vital medication to manage their asthma effectively.
In conclusion, the approval of Tezepelumab by England’s NICE has given hope to millions of asthma sufferers within the country and sets a trend for the rest of the world to follow. The approval comes after extensive trials showed that Tezepelumab can provide real relief to patients with severe asthma, by offering a more targeted approach to treatment. As the world reels from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, these exciting developments serve as a reminder that cutting-edge innovation, generous collaboration, and patient-focused outcomes are still very much within reach.