AstraZeneca Korea hosts workshop to celebrate Fasenra’s reimbursement

AstraZeneca Korea hosted a symposium for healthcare professionals to celebrate the reimbursement of Fasenra, a maintenance therapy for severe eosinophilic asthma at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas last Thursday and Friday.

The workshop featured lectures on the new treatment paradigm for severe eosinophilic asthma and the role of Fasenra as a biologic.

“Global phase 3 clinical studies of Fasenra, a biologic used as maintenance therapy in adult patients with uncontrolled severe eosinophilic asthma, have shown that up to 87 percent of patients do not experience asthma exacerbations at fifth years, and another study showed that about 63 percent of patients treated with Fasenra stopped using oral corticosteroids (OCS),” said Professor Park Hae-sim of the Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at Ajou University Hospital who chaired the symposium.

As the effectiveness of biologics, including anti-IL-5/IL-5R, in severe asthma is being confirmed, the paradigm of severe asthma treatment in Korea is expected to shift toward biologics, Professor Park added.

Professor Kim Tae-bum of the Department of Allergy at Asan Medical Center said, “The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) guidelines recommend the use of anti-IL-5/IL-5R agents for the treatment of severe eosinophilic asthma,” adding that the importance of improving access to severe asthma treatment in Korea is critical.

AstraZeneca Korea said it has launched activities to improve the convenience of asthma treatment, including the publication of a patient handbook for managing asthma medication administration.

The company explained that the “Fasenra Medication Management Patient Handbook” was created to help patients with severe eosinophilic asthma see how much their use of high-dose inhaled steroids/long-acting beta2-agonists (ICS/LABAs) has decreased since starting treatment with Fasenra, and to help them track and manage their symptoms.

The notebook comprises a treatment plan, goal setting, and symptom log. With the help of their healthcare team, patients can record information about their current medications, including Fasenra, in addition to their symptom control medications. Patients can also use the notebook to set goals for what they would like to do once they feel better, such as going for a walk or traveling, every three months, and record their condition periodically so that they can remain aware of their treatment progress used to communicate with their healthcare providers during hospital visits.

Fasenra was approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in 2019 as an additional maintenance therapy for adult severe eosinophilic asthma not adequately controlled by existing treatments.

Starting this month, Fasenra received insurance benefits for adult patients with severe eosinophilic asthma not adequately controlled despite high-dose ICS/LABA and long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) therapy within the past year who have had: four or more asthma exacerbations requiring systemic oral corticosteroids (OCS) within 12 months before treatment initiation with a blood eosinophil count of 300 cells/ml or greater, or continuous oral corticosteroid therapy for six months before treatment initiation; or a blood eosinophil count of 400 cells/㎕ or greater within the 12 months before starting treatment and three or more acute exacerbations of asthma requiring systemic corticosteroids within the 12 months before treatment.