AstraZeneca offers some mixed PhIII results for severe asthma, while Roche rival flounders
AstraZeneca posted some mixed — though generally positive — data from two big Phase III studies of benralizumab, its IL-5 contender in the highly competitive market for severe asthma. A high placebo response seriously eroded one set of late-stage data. But the therapy appears headed to an approval — even as Roche was practically given the kiss of death for a rival late-stage drug.
AstraZeneca put benralizumab through two Phase III studies that collectively recruited more than 2,500 patients. In the first of those, the CALIMA trial with 1,306 patients, 30 mg of benralizumab injected every 4 and 8 weeks was able to reduce exacerbation by 28% to 36% compared to a placebo. In the second study, SIROCCO with 1,209 patients, the exacerbation rate dropped by a more competitive 48% to 51%.
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