Benralizumab, sold under the brand name Fasenra, is a

monoclonal antibody A monoclonal antibody (mAb, more rarely called moAb) is an antibody produced from a cell Lineage made by cloning a unique white blood cell. All subsequent antibodies derived this way trace back to a unique parent cell. Monoclonal antibodies ca ...

medication which is developed by

MedImmune MedImmune, LLC was a wholly owned subsidiary of AstraZeneca before February 14, 2019, when it was announced that the MedImmune name and branding would be discontinued in favor of AstraZeneca. MedImmune was founded in 1988 as Molecular Vaccines, ...

for the treatment of

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

. It is directed against the alpha-chain of the

interleukin-5 receptor The interleukin-5 receptor is a type I cytokine receptor. It is a heterodimer of the interleukin 5 receptor alpha subunit and CSF2RB. The IL-5 receptor (IL-5R) belongs to the type I cytokine receptor family and is a heterodimer composed of two ...

( CD125). Two phase III clinical trials of benralizumab reported meeting their

primary endpoint Clinical endpoints or clinical outcomes are outcome measures referring to occurrence of disease, symptom, sign or laboratory abnormality constituting a target outcome in clinical research trials. The term may also refer to any disease or sign tha ...

s in 2016. It was approved by the US

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

in November 2017 for the treatment of severe

eosinophilic asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

. It was granted designation as an

orphan drug An orphan drug is a pharmaceutical agent developed to treat medical conditions which, because they are so rare, would not be profitable to produce without government assistance. The conditions are referred to as orphan diseases. The assignment of ...

by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment of eosinophilic oesophagitis in August 2019.

References

External links

* Antiasthmatic drugs Monoclonal antibodies AstraZeneca brands Orphan drugs {{respiratory-system-drug-stub