GSK shares positive results from phase 3 asthma trials

Betsy Goodfellow | May 21, 2024 | News story | Research and Development |  Asthma & COPD, GSK, asthma, clinical trial 

GSK has announced positive headline results from its phase 3 SWIFT-1 and SWIFT-2 trials, which evaluated the safety and efficacy of depemokimab compared to placebo in adult and adolescent patients with severe asthma with type 2 inflammation characterised by blood eosinophil count.

Both clinical trials met their primary endpoints of reduction in annualised rate of clinically significant exacerbations, or asthma attacks, over a 52-week period. The incidence and severity of treatment-emergent adverse events remained similar across the treatment group and those given placebo.

According to the company’s press release, ‘depemokimab is the first ultra-long-acting biologic to be evaluated in phase III trials with a binding affinity and high potency for interleukin-5 (IL-5), enabling six-month dosing intervals for patients with severe asthma’.

Further analysis of the clinical trial data is underway, however the drug is yet to be approved anywhere worldwide.

Kaivan Khavandi, senior vice president and global head of respiratory/immunology R&D at GSK, commented: “These results add to the established body of evidence that targeted inhibition of IL-5 plays a key role in reducing type 2 inflammation that drives severe asthma exacerbations. Depemokimab could offer the possibility of sustained inhibition of this pathway, with a dosing schedule of just two injections per year. This is important as research shows that 73% of physicians believe longer dosing intervals would be beneficial to patients who are often juggling multiple therapies.”

Betsy Goodfellow