Omalizumab is effective in patients with severe allergic asthma

Published Online: July 2021

Omalizumab has been found to be effective and safe in patients with moderate to severe allergic asthma in clinical research setting, but its effectiveness in real world settings is not as well established

A meta-analysis is a statistical technique for combining data from multiple studies on a particular topic. In The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, Bousquet et al. published the results of a meta-analysis which combined the results of real-world studies describing the effectiveness of omalizumab for the treatment of severe allergic asthma.

Real-world studies in patients (≥6 years) with severe allergic asthma and treated with omalizumab for at least 16 weeks were analyzed for treatment response, use of oral steroids, worsening of lung function, patient-experienced and reported measurements, and utilization of healthcare resources

A total of 86 real-world studies were included in this study. Global evaluation of treatment effectiveness (GETE), a measure of treatment effectiveness for allergic asthma, was confirmed as good or excellent in >80% of patients at 12 months. There was consistent improvement in lung function as well as a decrease in worsening of disease after 12 months of omalizumab treatment. There was also reduction in the percentage of patients taking oral steroids for disease control and unplanned physician visits. Together, the combined results from these 86 studies confirm that the efficacy and safety of omalizumab observed in clinical research settings for patients with severe allergic asthma translate into the real world.

The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice is an official journal of the AAAAI, focusing on practical information for the practicing clinician.

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