“Through research we have developed the monoclonal antibody mepolizumab, directed against interleukin-5, which has demonstrated its clinical efficacy in four different pathologies: severe eosinophilic asthma, chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis and hypereosinophilic syndrome. What these four pathologies have in common is an alteration in the function of eosinophils, a target that with mepolizumab we can control, thus having clinical efficacy.” This was said by Elisabetta Campagnoli, Specialty Medical Head of GSK, on the occasion of the press conference promoted by GSK today in Milan, during which the study conducted by a multidisciplinary team made up of immunologists and ENT specialists from the Careggi hospital in Florence was presented, which investigated the role of inflammatory eosinophils in the clinical severity of severe eosinophilic asthma and the efficacy of the monoclonal antibody mepolizumab as a equilibrator.
The study, published by the journal 'Allergy', found that treatment with the monoclonal antibody mepolizumab restores the physiological balance between the eosinophil sub-phenotypes, bringing the levels of 'good' and 'bad' eosinophils back to those observed in the subjects healthy, thus explaining how the drug can help control such a severe and impactful pathology.
“Respiratory pathologies are a field in which GSK has always invested in research. In particular – explains Campagnoli – in recent years there has been an evolution, with investments in research aimed at understanding the pathologies and pathological mechanisms through which the symptoms and pathologies themselves arise. In our clinical and registration studies we have always evaluated the impact on the quality of life of patients. Even in clinical practice studies, which are starting to emerge, the aim is to evaluate the impact on the symptom and , therefore, allow our patients to have a better quality of life. Our pipeline is always aimed at innovation and understanding what the next steps could be. The one closest to us, temporally speaking, is a 'long acting' drug that has a mechanism of action similar to mepolizumab, but which can have the advantage, if the results are positive, of having an administration every six months. This would respond to the need to improve the quality of life of our patients and the sustainability of the whole system”.
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