A broad population of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), current and former smokers alike, experienced fewer exacerbations taking a first-in-class biologic targeting interleukin (IL)-33, a pair of double-blind trials showed.
In OBERON and TITANIA, the addition of once-monthly tozorakimab injections to standard inhaled maintenance therapy resulted in fewer moderate or severe COPD exacerbations. Among former smokers, the annualized rate of these exacerbations occurring over a 52-week period was significantly lower with tozorakimab than placebo in both studies:OBERON: 1.34 vs 1.90 events (RR 0.71, 95% CI 0.57-0.88)TITANIA: 1.37 vs 2.07 events (RR 0.66, 95% CI 0.55-0.80)
This result was replicated in an overall population of former and current smokers in the two trials:OBERON: 1.41 vs 2.00 events (RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.58-0.85)TITANIA: 1.44 vs 2.03 events (RR 0.71, 95% CI 0.59-0.84)
"Tozorakimab, a first-in-class biologic, demonstrates a valuable potential therapeutic agent for our patients with COPD who continue to exacerbate despite guideline-based therapy," said Frank Sciurba, MD, of the University of Pittsburgh, presenting the two trials at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress, held this year in Barcelona, Spain.
