Effectiveness of mepolizumab in severe asthma in Japan: A real‐world study using claims data.

GLO:DBVG/01oct21:clt212063-fig-0002.jpg PHOTO (COLOR): 2 Proportion of patients requiring oral corticosteroid (OCS) maintenance therapy and daily median prednisone-equivalent dose in the on-treatment analysis (A, B) and the on/off-treatment analysis (C, D). Patients with severe eosinophilic asthma experience frequent exacerbations and may require oral corticosteroids (OCS) to maintain asthma control.1 In randomized controlled trials (RCTs), the anti-interleukin-5 monoclonal antibody, mepolizumab, reduces exacerbation rates and OCS use in patients with severe eosinophilic asthma versus placebo.2,3 However, due to strict eligibility criteria, RCT populations often have more homogeneous demographics and clinical characteristics than patients treated in real-world clinical practice.4 As such, it is important to validate and complement the results of RCTs with effectiveness data from real-world settings, which can provide valuable information for clinical decision-making5; these data are currently limited for Japan. In total, 61 patients were included in the on-treatment and on/off-treatment analyses (two patients in the on-treatment analysis and two in the on/off treatment analysis discontinued due to first bronchial thermoplasty); of these, 26 patients were included in the subgroup analysis. [Extracted from the article]