TEZSPIRE® – A New Treatment Option for Severe Asthma

Drug Review: Volume 23, Issue 7 (PDF)

Asthma is a chronic lung disease characterized by wheezing, shortness of breath, cough and chesttightness. Approximately 2.4 million Canadians aged 12 and older are affected by asthma. If left untreated, asthma can lead to a decline in lung function, negatively impact quality of life and productivity and result in flare-ups that may require hospitalization.

The goals of therapy for asthma include achieving good control of asthma symptoms and minimizing the risk of flare-ups. Initial asthma treatment involves the use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), followed by long-acting beta-2 agonists (LABA), longacting muscarinic receptor antagonists (LAMA) or leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRA). If these medications fail to control symptoms, injectable biologic medications may be initiated.

There are several injectable biologic treatment options for asthma available. Current injectable biologic treatments target specific inflammatory markers. Therefore, in order to be effective the patient must exhibit these specific markers.

Tezspire® represents an alternative injectable biologic option indicated for the treatment of severe asthma. Due to its unique mechanism of action, it does not require the presence of a specific inflammatory marker. As a result, a broader range of patients may benefit from Tezspire®.

Clinical trials demonstrated that Tezspire® iseffective in reducing swelling and inflammation inthe airway, allowing patients to breathe easier. Trials also demonstrated its ability to reduce the number of flare-ups and hospitalizations associated with asthma. It also has a satisfactory safety profile.

In addition to being a safe and effective treatment option, Tezspire® is comparably priced to current injectable biologic therapies for asthma and will besimilarly placed under Special Authorization for groups subscribed to ClaimSecure’s Managed For mulary.