AstraZeneca's Fasenra keeps the heat on GSK's Nucala with new phase 2 data

AstraZeneca’s Fasenra is already pressuring GlaxoSmithKline's Nucala in severe eosinophilic asthma, and new data could help set up a showdown between the two in another indication. By week 12 of a phase 2 study in hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES), Fasenra cut patients' blood eosinophil counts by at least half, AstraZeneca showed with results published Thursday. Only 30% of patients taking placebo reached that mark. In patients with biopsies taken, results showed a “near-complete depletion” of eosinophils, the company said. “We are encouraged by these trial results for Fasenra in hypereosinophilic syndrome and the data are potentially important given the limited treatment options for this debilitating disease,” Mene Pangalos, AstraZeneca’s EVP of pharma R&D, said in a statement. AstraZeneca spokeswoman Abigail Bozarth said the estimated U.S. population affected by HES, a rare disease that can lead to fatal organ damage, is around 20,500, but the number could be higher.