Tezepelumab Efficacy in Patients with Severe, Uncontrolled Asthma with Comorbid Nasal Polyps in NAVIGATOR

Abstract

Tanya M Laidlaw1,2 *, Andrew Menzies-Gow3 *, Scott Caveney,4 Joseph K Han,5 Nicole Martin,6,7 Elliot Israel,8 Jason K Lee,9,10 Jean-Pierre Llanos,11 Neil Martin,12,13 Ayman Megally,14 Bhavini Parikh,14 Sylvia Vong,15 Tobias Welte,16 Jonathan Corren17 1Jeff and Penny Vinik Center for Allergic Diseases Research, Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; 2Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; 3Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, School of Immunology and Microbial Sciences, King’s College London, London, UK; 4Global Development, Inflammation, R&D, Amgen, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA; 5Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA; 6Biometrics, Late-Stage Development, Respiratory and Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Waltham, MA, USA; 7Cytel Inc, Waltham, MA, USA; 8Divisions of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; 9Evidence Based Medical Educator Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada; 10Toronto Allergy and Asthma Clinic, Toronto, ON, Canada; 11Global Medical Affairs, Amgen, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA; 12Respiratory and Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals Medical, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK; 13University of Leicester, Leicester, UK; 14Late-Stage Development, Respiratory and Immunology, BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, MD, USA; 15Translational Science and Experimental Medicine, Early Respiratory and Immunology, AstraZeneca, Gaithersburg, MD, USA; 16Department of Respiratory Medicine and German Center for Lung Research, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany; 17David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Tanya M Laidlaw, Jeff and Penny Vinik Center for Allergic Diseases Research, Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 60 Fenwood Road, Boston, MA, 02115, USA, Email [email protected]: Tezepelumab, a human monoclonal antibody, blocks thymic stromal lymphopoietin. In the phase 3 NAVIGATOR study (NCT03347279), tezepelumab reduced annualized asthma exacerbation rates (AAERs) versus placebo, irrespective of baseline disease characteristics, and improved lung function and symptom control versus placebo in adults and adolescents with severe, uncontrolled asthma. We assessed the efficacy of tezepelumab in patients with severe asthma with or without nasal polyps (NPs) in the 2 years before randomization in NAVIGATOR.Methods: Patients with severe asthma (N=1059) were randomized (1:1) and received tezepelumab 210 mg or placebo every 4 weeks subcutaneously for 52 weeks. Prespecified exploratory analyses included: AAER over 52 weeks and changes from baseline to week 52 in pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second, Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT)-22 scores, and asthma control and health-related quality life (HRQoL) outcomes in NP subgroups. Changes from baseline in fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), blood eosinophil counts, total immunoglobulin E (IgE), eosinophil-derived neurotoxin (EDN), matrix metalloproteinase-10 (MMP-10), and serum interleukin (IL)-5, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-13 were assessed (post hoc).Results: Tezepelumab reduced the AAER over 52 weeks versus placebo by 85% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 72, 92; n=118) and 51% (95% CI: 40, 60; n=941) in patients with and without NPs, respectively. At week 52, tezepelumab improved lung function, asthma control and HRQoL versus placebo in patients with and without NPs. Tezepelumab reduced SNOT-22 total scores (least-squares mean difference versus placebo [95% CI]) in patients with NPs at 28 weeks (– 12.57 points [– 19.40, – 5.73]) and 52 weeks (– 10.58 points [– 17.75, – 3.41]). At week 52, tezepelumab reduced blood eosinophil counts and FeNO, IgE, IL-5, IL-13, EDN and MMP-10 levels versus placebo, irrespective of NP status.Conclusion: Tezepelumab resulted in clinically meaningful improvements in sino-nasal symptoms and asthma outcomes in patients with severe asthma with comorbid NPs.Graphical Abstract: Plain Language Summary: Asthma is a long-term condition caused by ongoing inflammation of the lower airways. The main symptoms are difficulty breathing, coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath. Approximately 41% of patients with severe asthma also have chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps, a condition that affects the upper airways and sinuses. Nasal polyps are painless soft growths inside your nose that can keep growing if not treated. Symptoms include nasal congestion with mucus, facial pain and a reduced sense of smell or taste. People with both severe asthma and nasal polyps often have severe symptoms.Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is a signaling molecule released by cells lining the airways in response to airborne triggers, such as smoke, pollen and viruses. TSLP activates several pathways that cause inflammation in the airways, leading to asthma symptoms. Tezepelumab is a biologic treatment that targets the very start of these inflammatory pathways by blocking TSLP.The 1-year-long clinical trial called “NAVIGATOR” reported that tezepelumab reduced asthma attacks and improved lung function and asthma symptom control compared with placebo in patients with severe asthma that was not controlled with their current medicines. This analysis of data from NAVIGATOR looked at patients with both severe asthma and nasal polyps, showing that tezepelumab treatment improved sino-nasal symptoms compared with placebo. Tezepelumab also reduced asthma attacks and improved asthma symptoms, regardless of a patient’s medical history of nasal polyps. The effects of tezepelumab in patients with severe nasal polyps are being investigated in another clinical trial called “WAYPOINT”.Keywords: chronic rhinosinusitis, nasal polyps, SNOT-22, thymic stromal lymphopoietin

Keywords

• chronic rhinosinusitis
• nasal polyps
• snot-22
• thymic stromal lymphopoietin