A New Treatment for Severe Asthma

There's a new treatment for severe asthma.

It's called Tezspire (tezepelumab-ekko). The FDA approved it as an add-on maintenance treatment for severe asthma in patients ages 12 and older.

Tezspire is a human monoclonal antibody. It is a first-in-class drug for the treatment of advanced asthma. It's administered via injection and works to stop inflammation that leads to asthma attacks.

"Asthma is a complex and chronic inflammatory disease that affects everyone differently," said Dr. David M. Reese, executive vice president of Research and Development at Amgen, in a press release. "By working at the top of the inflammation cascade, Tezspire helps stop the inflammation that causes asthma attacks at the source and has the potential to treat a broad population of people with severe asthma, including those who have historically lacked effective treatment options."

In various clinical trials of this newly approved drug, it appeared to significantly reduce serious asthma episodes when compared to a placebo. One of the trials supporting this medication's approval was published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Common side effects of Tezspire included nasopharyngitis, upper respiratory tract infection and headache.

Tezspire is not intended to treat acute asthma symptoms like bronchospasm or status asthmaticus.

The FDA approved Tezspire for Amgen and AstraZeneca.

Do not make any changes to your existing asthma treatment without first speaking with your health care provider.