Twice-yearly asthma treatment approved in UK
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved a new asthma treatment that only needs to be administered twice a year.
Depemokimab (Exdensur) is a biological medicine that can also be used to treat severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP).
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The approval allows depemokimab to be used in the UK as an add-on treatment for adults and adolescents aged 12 years and over whose asthma remains inadequately controlled despite standard care.
It is also approved for adults with severe CRSwNP who continue to experience symptoms despite existing therapies, including surgery.
While asthma inflames and narrows the airways in the lungs, making breathing difficult, CRSwNP is inflammation of the nose and paranasal sinuses where symptoms persist for more than 12 weeks, often leading to nasal polyps.
The medicine, delivered by subcutaneous injection every six months, works by blocking interleukin-5 to reduce type 2 inflammation, a key driver of both conditions.
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Julian Beach, interim executive director of healthcare quality and access at the MHRA, said: 'These conditions affect a significant number of people across the UK, and in some cases can be difficult to manage despite existing treatments.
'This approval represents another potential treatment option for patients living with some forms of these conditions whose symptoms have not been adequately controlled with current therapies.'
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Common side effects of depemokimab include itchy skin, headache, tiredness and injection-site reactions. Full safety information will be available in the patient information leaflet and summary of product characteristics on the MHRA website.
The MHRA said it will continue to monitor the safety and effectiveness of depemokimab following its approval.
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