Anti-IL-5 monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of asthma: an update

Asthma exhibits marked heterogeneity in symptoms with severe or refractory asthma representing a clear area of unmet medical need. These patients require more specifically targeted treatments with monoclonal antibody–based biologics targeted at inhibition of the type 2 cytokines IL-4, IL-5 and IL-13 having considerable potential as effective treatments for severe asthma. For the most part, anti-cytokine-based biologic therapies are more likely to give significant clinical benefit in carefully selected patient populations that take asthma phenotypes and endotypes into account.