The FDA has approved reslizumab (Cinqair – Teva), a humanized interleukin-5 (IL-5) antagonist monoclonal antibody, for add-on maintenance treatment of severe asthma in adults who have an eosinophilic phenotype. It is the second IL-5 antagonist to be approved in the US; mepolizumab (Nucala) was approved for the same indication in 2015.1

EOSINOPHILIC PHENOTYPE — What constitutes an eosinophilic phenotype is not well defined, but patients with this phenotype generally have severe disease with high eosinophil levels in blood and/or sputum despite treatment with a corticosteroid.2

OTHER MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES — In clinical trials, mepolizumab reduced exacerbations and the need for maintenance oral corticosteroids in patients with severe asthma and high eosinophil counts. The recombinant humanized ... more      

Would you like to read the rest of this article?  Gain access below.