NICE Recommends Dupixent ∇ (dupilumab) for the Treatment of Severe Asthma[1]

• Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) means a novel biologic will be routinely available on the NHS⁽¹⁾
• Data shows that, compared to placebo, dupilumab reduces the rate of severe asthma attacks and the number of people needing urgent hospital care^(2,3,4)
• As healthcare services continue to be stretched by COVID-19, effective asthma management that reduces hospital admissions is more important than ever⁽⁵⁾

READING, England, Oct. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has issued a Final Appraisal Determination (FAD) recommending Dupixent (dupilumab), as an add-on maintenance treatment for severe asthma.^1* (Full details below and recommendation here)

We know that every ten seconds someone in the UK has a potentially life-threatening asthma attack,⁶ with approximately 77,000 people being hospitalised each year⁷ despite severe asthma being treatable. Now that a new treatment option is available, this is good news for the 200,000 people living with severe asthma in the UK.⁸

"Living with severe, uncontrolled asthma results is a constant struggle with shortness of breath and wheezing, making it very hard to lead a normal life. It can be life threatening when medications are unable to keep asthma under control and severe asthma attacks are too often a reality," said Professor Ian Pavord, Professor of Respiratory Medicine, Respiratory Medicine Unit and Oxford Respiratory NIHR BRC, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford. "Providing patients with new treatment options is particularly important during the ongoing pandemic as people with severe asthma feel especially vulnerable. Biologic treatments, such as dupilumab, which target one of the dominant underlying causes of severe asthma, can transform outcomes for people with severe asthma."

Dupilumab acts on the type 2 immune response which is believed to be a major driver in severe asthma. Dupilumab is different to many existing treatments as it works by dampening down two key drivers of the inflammatory process - interlukin-4 and interlukin-13.² In severe asthma patients with type 2 inflammation it has been shown, to reduce severe asthma attacks by up to 67% compared to placebo (0.40 exacerbation rate versus 1.24 exacerbation rate), and hospitalisations/A&E visits by nearly 50% compared to placebo (0.035 hospitalisation rate versus 0.065 hospitalisation rate).²