On 20 May at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2025 conference in San Francisco, investigators from the Analysis Group, a multinational consultancy, and GSK presented findings from a retrospective cohort study evaluating asthma patients’ persistence on biologic therapies and their impact on asthma exacerbations and oral corticosteroid (OCS) use. The real-world findings demonstrated that a lack of persistence in the use of biologic therapies leads to increased rates of asthma exacerbations and increased use of OCS in this patient population.
While findings that a lack of persistence in use typically results in poor patient outcomes are to be expected, their significance is that this is the fundamental argument by GSK for the company’s long-acting, anti-interleukin (IL)-5 monoclonal antibody (mAB) asset, depemokimab.
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There are several approved biologics in the severe asthma market, with four drugs currently in late-stage development expected to enter the space in the coming years. GSK’s depomokimab will face stiff competition following its anticipated regulatory approval to treat asthma. However, unlike other biologics, depemokimab’s dosing schedule requires administration only twice a year. The convenience of such a long-acting agent will be a clear point of distinction that GSK will certainly re-inforce in product messaging. GSK has already shown the efficacy of the drug, as evidenced by the pivotal Phase 3 SWIFT-1/-2 studies, where depemokimab was shown to significantly reduce exacerbations with sustained inhibition of type 2 inflammation observed in patients with type 2 asthma characterised by blood eosinophils. The retrospective study presented the problem of treatment adherence with current treatments. The favourable dosing schedule of depemokimab could potentially address the problem of persistent therapeutic use, as echoed in recent interviews by GlobalData of key opinion leaders (KOLs).
One 5EU [from the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy] KOL stated:
“[Compliance] is a really important issue because, in a way, it’s more important than new drugs. Half the asthmatics in the real world are not controlled, not because they aren’t diagnosed or given the right treatment – they just don’t take it.”
A second stated:
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By GlobalData“Longer-acting biologics will be game-changers. Patients who currently require frequent dosing will benefit from the convenience and improved adherence associated with fewer injections.”
The study showed that treatment persistence was highest among interleukin (IL)-5/5R biologics, benralizumab (72.2%), followed by reslizumab (69.0%) and mepolizumab (68.0%). Patients initiated on other therapies, tezepelumab and omalizumab, were shown to discontinue treatment more frequently (33.2% and 29.6% respectively). Ultimately, inconsistent use leads to more asthma exacerbations and more OCS use.
GSK will take these findings and incorporate them into product messaging suggesting that with the convenience and ease of the anti-IL-5, biannual dosing schedule of depemokimab, patients will be more consistent in adhering to treatment and ultimately will have better outcomes. It is anticipated that this product messaging will ultimately lead to robust and rapid adoption by healthcare providers and prescribers. The messaging of multiple presentations at ATS 2025 makes clear that with the anticipated approval of depemokimab, GSK will enter the asthma space as a serious competitor.
