BENRALIZUMAB Anti-IL-5Rα monoclonal antibody Treatment of asthma

Asthma is a disease of the airways in which inflammation leading to asthma attacks is maintained by the complex interaction among various cytokine-driven pathways. One such cytokine is interleukin-5 (IL-5), which is produced by allergen-activated Th2 or mast cells and which is a potent activator of eosinophilic inflammation. Although this allergic inflammation can usually be controlled with inhaled corticosteroids, in a limited number of patients this still remains upregulated even if high doses of such medications are taken. Therefore, additional inhibition of inflammation with more specific compounds is often needed. During the last decades, sustained efforts towards the development of cytokine blockers were performed, and currently monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) such as anti-IL-5 (mepolizumab, reslizumab) or anti-IL-13 (lebrikizumab, tralokinumab) are in late phases of clinical development. Benralizumab is a humanized MAb which blocks the subunit alpha of the IL-5 receptor (IL-5R alpha) and which is currently being tested in phase III studies in patients with uncontrolled asthma.