GSK asthma hope depemokimab works in second indication

GSK's experimental IL-5 inhibitor depemokimab has shown its potential in a pair of phase 3 trials in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP).

The company said this morning that the drug – which only needs to be administered once every six months – achieved a statistically significant reduction in nasal polyp size as well as nasal obstruction compared to placebo in the 52-week study.

Full results from the ANCHOR-1 and ANCHOR-2 trials, which looked at the drug or placebo on top of standard therapy for CRSwNP, will be presented later, according to the drugmaker.

CRSwNP is an inflammatory condition which results in the growth of nasal polyps in the nose that can sometimes require surgical intervention. Around 40% of cases are uncontrolled and – in severe cases – polyps tend to recur, forcing patients to undergo multiple operations.

Depemokimab has already shown its potential as a therapy for severe asthma in two other phase 3 trials – SWIFT-1 and SWIFT-2 – and GSK is in the process of preparing regulatory filings for the drug.

The antibody is a follow-up to the company's once-monthly IL-5 inhibitor Nucala (mepolizumab), which has been on the market since 2015.

Nucala is approved for four indications, namely severe eosinophilic asthma CRSwNP, eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), and hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES), and has also shown efficacy in a phase 3 trial in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

It is one of GSK's top drugs, with sales of $2.2 billion last year, jostling for market share with other IL-5 inhibitors, notably AstraZeneca's Fasenra (benralizumab) – dosed every four weeks for three doses, then every eight weeks thereafter – which made $1.6 billion in 2023.

GSK's global head of respiratory and immunology R&D, Kaivan Khavandi, said that CRSwNP affects millions of people around the globe, with current treatment often leading to prolonged exposure to corticosteroids, which can be harmful.

"We're very encouraged by the results from the ANCHOR studies, which demonstrate the potential for depemokimab to offer targeted and sustained suppression of a key inflammatory pathway underlying nasal polyp growth and nasal obstruction," he added.

"Today's data, along with recent phase III data in severe asthma, will be used in regulatory filings around the world."

GSK, which also has phase 3 programmes running for depemokimab in EGPA and HES, has previously put a target peak sales figure of £3 billion ($3.9 billion) a year on the drug.

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay