Effects of benralizumab in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA): A plain language summary of the ANANKE study.

WHAT IS THIS SUMMARY ABOUT?: This summary outlines the findings from the ANANKE study on the treatment of patients with severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA) with benralizumab. SEA is an inflammatory disease of the lungs caused by eosinophils. Patients with SEA may experience asthma attacks (exacerbations) and decreased ability to breathe (lung function) despite taking medications. Benralizumab (Fasenra) is a biologic therapy (a medicine produced using living cells) approved for the treatment of SEA.The ANANKE study was conducted in Italy and evaluated the characteristics of patients with SEA who received benralizumab as prescribed by their doctors. It also described the effects of benralizumab on participants in terms of frequency of exacerbations, lung function and overall control of asthma, and their need to take oral corticosteroids (OCS) to control symptoms. The effects of benralizumab have been observed in participants treated for: 1) an average of 10.3 months, and 2) up to 96 weeks (approximately 2 years). The effects were also compared between different groups: 1) participants with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and those without, and 2) participants who received other biologics before benralizumab (bio-experienced) and those who started with benralizumab as their first biologic (naïve). CRSwNP is an inflammatory condition that makes breathing even more difficult.

WHAT WERE THE KEY FINDINGS?: Before receiving benralizumab, participants showed a high blood eosinophil count (the number of eosinophils in the bloodstream), frequent exacerbations, insufficient lung function, and poor disease control (symptom management). After 96 weeks, benralizumab almost eliminated exacerbations, improved lung function, reduced the use of OCS, and increased the control of SEA symptoms while lowering blood eosinophil count. Comparable effects were observed between participants with and without CRSwNP and between naïve and bio-experienced participants.

WHAT WERE THE MAIN CONCLUSIONS REPORTED BY THE RESEARCHERS?: The ANANKE study showed that participants had frequent exacerbations and were characterized by eosinophilic inflammation before starting benralizumab. Overall, benralizumab improved the control of the disease for up to 2 years and induced similar beneficial effects regardless of the presence of CRSwNP and the use of previous biologics. These findings highlight the long-lasting and broad action of benralizumab. NCT04272463 (ANANKE) (ClinicalTrials.gov).