How Biologics Are Shaping Respiratory Disease Treatment & Management
Asthma and other chronic respiratory illnesses force many patients to manage their disease by avoiding triggers and relying on daily inhaled or oral medications to reduce symptoms.
Unfortunately, for some patients, these medications are not enough to effectively control their conditions, given that quick-relief inhalers and oral controllers aren’t capable of modifying the underlying disease.
Thankfully, a new class of drugs known as biologics have come to change how we treat and manage respiratory disease. Biologic infusion therapies can target specific antibodies, molecules, and cells involved in the inflammatory response associated with asthma and other respiratory illnesses, making them more precise and personalized.
Video: How Biologics Are Shaping Respiratory Disease Treatment & Management
How Biologics Work and Who Can Benefit
Biologic medications use modified cells from living organisms such as bacteria and mice to target specific molecules in the human body and disrupt the inflammatory pathways that cause asthma symptoms.
Although highly effective, biologics are not suitable for everyone. Instead, these therapies aim to help patients who continue to experience severe symptoms despite using a traditional controller and reliever medication. For example, patients who experience frequent shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, use fast-acting reliever inhalers several times a day or week, and those who have recurrent ER visits or hospital admissions, can benefit the most from infusion biologic therapy.
The Ample Benefits of Biologics
Chronic respiratory diseases can limit physical activity and hamper daily routines, directly impacting a patient’s quality of life. Because biologics can significantly reduce disease exacerbations and, in some cases, improve lung function, most patients experience an improvement in their quality of life.
Additionally, biologic infusion therapies can provide the following benefits:
- A decrease in ER visits, hospitalizations, and the need for oral steroids
- Reduced symptom severity
- Dose reductions for traditional controller medications
- Improved airway control
- Fewer missed school and workdays
The Future of Respiratory Disease Treatment and Management
Asthma is an umbrella term for different phenotypes. Through ongoing research, we continue to learn more about these phenotypes and how chronic respiratory illnesses evolve.
This helps scientists develop more targeted therapies to treat asthma patients who, despite proper disease management, cannot control their symptoms effectively.
So far, the data on the effectiveness of biologic infusion therapies is very positive, with many patients finally being able to control their disease symptoms and reduce the severity and frequency of flare-ups.
As a result, the use of biologics in treating and managing chronic respiratory illnesses will likely continue to grow in the coming years.
