In a meta-analysis, published in the Journal of Medical Economics, researchers compared the efficacy of tezepelumab and other approved biologic therapies in patients aged 12 years or more with severe uncontrolled asthma. The study’s lead author, Andrew Menzies-Gow, and colleagues ultimately felt their evidence supported the use of tezepelumab in this population, regardless of phenotype or baseline patient characteristics.
The authors’ systematic literature review enrolled 16 studies across for indirect treatment comparisons (ITCs) via a network meta-analysis (NMA) or a simulated treatment comparison (STC) approach. The primary end points of the meta-analysis were annualized asthma exacerbation rate (AAER) and AAER of events leading to hospitalization or emergency department visit.
Tezepelumab Demonstrated Potential Benefits Versus Other Biologics
Biologics agents in the review included tezepelumab, dupilumab, benralizumab, mepolizumab, reslizumab, and omalizumab. The authors reported that all of the therapies exhibited similar efficacy with no significant differences in risk ratios for the primary outcomes; However, they noted that tezepelumab was correlated with lower trendings AAERs overall, and was the most effect biologic for the exacerbation outcomes.
The authors acknowledged a degree of heterogeneity between the included trials’ enrollment criteria and clinically important characteristics; Nonetheless, they felt the potential impact of this limitation was low.
Ultimately, the authors supported the broad efficacy of tezepelumab in patients with severe uncontrolled asthma, and hypothesized its potential advantages versus other biologics could be “because TSLP, the target of tezepelumab, is positioned higher up the inflammatory cascade than other targets, which may lead to broader effects on airway inflammation and structural airway changes.
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