A revolutionary monthly injection could transform the lives of severe asthma sufferers by allowing them to reduce or completely stop taking daily steroid tablets, according to groundbreaking clinical trial results.
Breakthrough Treatment Shows Remarkable Results
The international Wayfinder trial, led by King's College London, involved nearly 300 adults with severe, uncontrolled asthma from 11 countries including the UK, US, France, Germany, Mexico and Spain. All participants were taking between 5mg and 40mg of steroid tablets daily before the study began.
Patients received monthly injections of tezepelumab, also marketed as Tezspire and manufactured by AstraZeneca. This innovative treatment works by binding to and blocking a protein associated with airway inflammation, addressing the root cause of asthma symptoms.
Dramatic Reduction in Steroid Dependency
The results, published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine and presented at the British Thoracic Society winter meeting, revealed extraordinary outcomes. After one year of treatment, more than half of participants had completely stopped taking their steroid medication without experiencing asthma flare-ups.
Even more impressively, nearly 90% of patients had reduced their steroid use to a low dose. The benefits appeared quickly, with a third of participants able to stop taking steroids after just six months of treatment.
Professor David Jackson, the study's lead author and respiratory medicine expert at King's College London, expressed excitement about the findings. "As tezepelumab also suppresses allergy-related symptoms and improves chronic rhinosinusitis as well, the results are particularly exciting for patients with severe asthma who suffer with both upper and lower airway symptoms," he said.
Transforming Lives Beyond Symptom Control
The trial demonstrated benefits extending far beyond steroid reduction. Patients experienced significant improvements in asthma symptoms, lung function and overall quality of life. During the study period, two-thirds of participants didn't suffer any asthma attacks at all.
This development is particularly crucial given that approximately 260 million people worldwide live with asthma. While most manage their condition with inhalers, those with severe asthma often rely on daily oral corticosteroids - medications associated with serious long-term health risks including osteoporosis, diabetes and increased vulnerability to infections.
Dr Samantha Walker, director of research and innovation at Asthma + Lung UK, described the findings as "an incredibly encouraging development for the future of asthma care that could transform the lives of people with severe asthma."
She emphasised the importance of continued research funding, noting that "lung conditions remain the third biggest cause of death in the UK" despite current funding challenges.
Clinical Acceptance and Future Implementation
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approved tezepelumab in 2023 as an additional maintenance treatment for patients aged 12 and over whose usual medication fails to control their asthma effectively.
Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chair of the Royal College of GPs, welcomed the research while emphasising the need for careful assessment. "Any new interventions that may help patients manage their symptoms more easily and in a safe and effective way would be welcome," she stated.
She added that "the prospect of a monthly injection, rather than daily tablets, may also be a more manageable treatment option for some patients" but stressed that clinical guidelines must be updated based on the latest evidence to ensure patient safety.
This breakthrough represents hope for the approximately 10% of asthma sufferers who experience severe symptoms, offering the potential for reduced medication side effects and improved daily living without the constant worry of asthma attacks.
