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. 2020 Oct;37(4):262-268.
doi: 10.12701/yujm.2020.00647. Epub 2020 Sep 11.

Biological treatments for severe asthma

Hyun Jung Jin  1
Affiliations

Biological treatments for severe asthma

Hyun Jung Jin. Yeungnam Univ J Med. 2020 Oct.

Abstract

Severe asthma patients comprise about 3% to 13% of all asthma patients, but they have higher hospital utilization rates and higher medical costs than those of nonsevere asthma patients. Treatment methods for severe asthma patients are still lacking; however, the recent development of biologics is expected to have a positive effect. The biological therapies developed so far are mainly aimed at treating asthma patients with type 2 inflammation. These biologics have been found to reduce symptoms of asthma, improve lung function, reduce the use of oral corticosteroids, and improve quality of life of patients. This article reviews the mechanism of action and indications for approved biologics and discusses what should be considered when choosing biologics.

Keywords: Biological products; Eosinophils; Monoclonal antibodies; Severe asthma.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

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