NICE backs first-of-its-kind treatment for asthma

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended that adults with severe asthma should have access to a new drug - mepolizumab.

In draft guidance, NICE says that adults with severe symptoms should have access to mepolizumab, including those who suffer many asthma attacks or those taking regular oral steroids.

Mepolizumab, the first biologic treatment to target immune cells called eosinophils (the cells responsible for symptoms in thousands of asthma patients), stops the activity of a molecule called IL-5 which attracts asthma-causing eosinophils to airways and helps them survive.

Costing £840 per dose before any NHS discount is applied, patients are given mepolizumab by injection every four weeks.

Professor Carole Longson, director of the NICE centre for health technology evaluation, said: “Around 100,000 adults in England and Wales have severe asthma that cannot be controlled with their regular medicines. Symptoms such as constant breathlessness can make it hard to carry out simple day-to-day activities.

“Asthma attacks can come without any warning so people often live in fear, afraid to go out. If they do suffer from an attack, it may lead to hospitalisation and in the worst cases death. Adults with severe asthma have had limited treatment options. Many end up taking oral corticosteroids for prolonged periods which can cause further complications such as diabetes, high blood pressure and mood swings.”