- Dupixent is the only biologic medicine to improve lung function in children aged 6 to 11 years with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe asthma in a randomized Phase 3 trial, with potential to be best-in-class treatment for these patients
- FDA decision for children with moderate-to-severe asthma expected by October 21, 2021
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Sanofi today announced that detailed results from a Phase 3 trial showed Dupixent® (dupilumab) significantly reduced severe asthma attacks, and within two weeks rapidly improved lung function in children aged 6 to 11 years with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe asthma, with evidence of type 2 inflammation. Dupixent also significantly improved overall asthma symptom control and reduced an airway biomarker of type 2 inflammation that plays a major role in asthma, called fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO). These data are being presented at the 2021 American Thoracic Society International Conference (ATS 2021) and featured in the Breaking News: Clinical Trial Results in Pulmonary Medicine Scientific Symposium.
“Children living with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe asthma experience serious and persistent symptoms that can impact many crucial aspects of their lives including school, sleep and exercise,” said Leonard B. Bacharier, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Center for Pediatric Asthma Research, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee and principal investigator of the trial. “The trial results show that dupilumab, when added to standard-of-care therapy, significantly reduced asthma attacks, rapidly improved lung function and improved asthma control, which is especially important to these children during a particularly formative time in their lives.”
Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children, with approximately 75,000 children aged 6 to 11 years living with the uncontrolled moderate-to-severe form of the disease in the U.S., and many more worldwide. Despite treatment with current standard-of-care inhaled corticosteroids and bronchodilators, these children may continue to experience serious symptoms such as coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing. They also may require the use of multiple courses of systemic corticosteroids that carry significant risks. Children who have asthma with underlying type 2 inflammation, which is the most common cause of asthma in children, are more likely to have poor asthma control, more frequent asthma attacks and symptoms that interfere with day-to-day activities.
The Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled VOYAGE trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of Dupixent (100 mg or 200 mg every two weeks, based on weight) combined with standard-of-care asthma therapy in 408 children with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe asthma. Two pre-specified populations with evidence of type 2 inflammation were evaluated for the primary analysis: 1) patients with baseline blood eosinophils (EOS) ≥300 cells/μl (n=259) and 2) patients with FeNO ≥20 parts per billion (ppb) or EOS ≥150 cells/μl (n=350).
