Tezepelumab Reduces Asthma Exacerbations, OCS Use in Real-World Study
Clinical summary:
- Tezepelumab: A US retrospective, single-arm, self-controlled claims study included 321 patients aged ≥12 years with severe asthma and ≥2 prior-year exacerbations, comparing 12 months before and after initiation during December 2021–August 2022.
- Annualized asthma exacerbation rates decreased 58% (95% CI, 53%-62%); annual cumulative oral corticosteroid exposure declined from 1295 to 770 mg prednisone equivalents (P<.001).
- Exacerbation-related hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and outpatient visits decreased, with improvements observed among biologic-naïve and biologic-experienced patients. Findings reflect an observational study without a separate control group.
Tezepelumab treatment was associated with a 58% reduction in annualized asthma exacerbation rates (AAER), along with decreased oral corticosteroid (OCS) use and health care resource utilization among patients with severe asthma, according to a real-world US study.
Investigators conducted a retrospective, single-arm, self-controlled observational study of patients aged 12 years and older with severe asthma who initiated tezepelumab between December 2021 and August 2022. Insurance claims data were used to compare outcomes during the 12 months before and after treatment initiation.
The cohort included 321 patients who had experienced at least 2 asthma exacerbations during the year before starting tezepelumab. Of these, 45% had received another biologic within the previous 12 months. Among 143 patients with available blood eosinophil data, 68% had counts below 300 cells/µL.
Following tezepelumab initiation, AAER decreased by 58% (95% CI, 53%-62%). Average annual cumulative OCS exposure, measured in prednisone equivalents, declined from 1295 mg before treatment to 770 mg after initiation (P<.001).
Asthma exacerbation-related health care utilization also decreased, including inpatient admissions, emergency department visits, and outpatient visits.
Reductions in asthma-related outcomes were observed among both biologic-naïve and biologic-experienced patients and across multiple clinical subgroups evaluated in the analysis.
“Patients with severe asthma treated with tezepelumab in the first 9 months post US approval experienced meaningful clinical benefits,” the investigators concluded.
The observed reductions in “annualized asthma exacerbation rates,” cumulative OCS exposure, and exacerbation-related health care utilization suggest improvements across several measures of severe asthma burden following tezepelumab initiation.
Reference
DeMartino JK, Ambrose CS, Sanchez SZ, et al. Real-world effectiveness of tezepelumab for patients with severe asthma in the United States: CROSSROADS-3. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol Published online September 2026. doi:10.1016/j.anai.2026.09.737
