The FDA has approved mepolizumab (Nucala - GSK), a subcutaneously injected humanized interleukin-5 (IL-5) antagonist monoclonal antibody, for maintenance treatment of severe asthma in patients ≥12 years old who have an eosinophilic phenotype.

EOSINOPHILIC PHENOTYPE — Severe asthma has been defined as asthma that can only be controlled with high-dose inhaled glucocorticoids plus a second controller medication and/or systemic glucocorticoids, or that remains uncontrolled despite this therapy. What constitutes an eosinophilic phenotype is not well defined, but patients in this category generally have severe disease with high eosinophil levels in blood and sputum despite treatment with a glucocorticoid.1

MECHANISM OF ACTION — IL-5 is the major cytokine responsible for the growth, differentiation, recruitment, and activation of ... more      

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