Quilizumab: new Drug available for Asthma Treatment

Asthma sufferers will be pleased to know there is a new drug on the market to help in the fight of this debilitating disease. The new drug which was approved for the treatment of asthma is called quilizumab. It is for the treatment of persons with mild asthma attacks, and is said to be very effective as reported in Science Translational Medicine.

Quilizumab effectiveness is to arrest or interrupt the protein that triggers the asthmatic reaction in patients. This protein is called (IgE) or immunoglobulin type E; which is present in the blood. This drug requires the patient to receive one inhaled dose every three months or possibly longer depending on the patient. Based on studies done; persons who used this incredible drug, quilizumab were found to have fewer attacks because of the drug’s ability to block the production of IgE, or not to have new production of the protein. What this means, is the person who inhale any allergens that cause their asthmatic attacks while using this drug, found a dramatic reduction in their symptoms. This is great for persons that suffer from mild asthma attacks.

For persons with more severe conditions, the drug company Genentech (a member of the Roche Group) has scheduled clinical trials these years. This is good news for asthma patients who have found it challenging to keep their attacks under control. Their lifestyles have to change, with regards to living conditions and their working environment. For persons whose triggers are pets, they probably have to get rid of them and for persons that are allergic to dust and dust mites; their entire bedding and furniture has to be changed to alleviate the asthma symptoms.

This kind of lifestyle change is workable and financially manageable for persons in Europe and the Americas; but for many developing countries this is not so; more so in South Africa. Their only source of relief is through the use of inhalers. With this revolutionary new inhaled treatment, they will be able to access relief a lot quicker and cheaper. As much as 4 million persons in South Africa suffer from asthma and an estimated 15% is school going children. They suffer from symptoms of coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing, all the symptoms related to asthma. Without inhalants to relieve the symptoms they suffer from continuous conditions of swelling and inflamed airways, and this can be very distressing and if not treated may be fatal.

Because of the limited availability of ready relief the mortality rate is high; especially among the younger age group of sufferers of asthma. The Global Initiative for Asthma shows South Africa’s fatality rate to be the fifth highest in the world at 18.5% out of every 100,000 cases. This is not good so the introduction of this drug quilizumab is very welcome.