Big Pharma missing the point with new asthma drug

Big Pharma has never met a problem it couldn’t pretend to solve with a new and expensive drug that you have to take forever.

That’s because most of their treatments aren’t cures – just drugs to help manage symptoms.

Take the latest push to treat a small, specific group of adult-onset asthmatics who generally don’t respond well to the typical oral corticosteroid treatments they’re given. It’s generally believed that’s because they have high levels of eosinophils, which are immune cells.

The experimental drug mepolizumab, which GlaxoSmithKline is also calling Bosatria, appears to reduce those eosinophils, according to two new studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine. And that appears to give these particular asthmatics some relief, as well as ease their reliance on oral steroids.

GlaxoSmithKline funded the studies. What’s more, they commissioned this research when it turned out their drug had no impact on a larger group of asthmatics. It only seems to help this very specific group of adult-onset asthmatics who have high levels of eosinophils, or about 5 percent of all adult-onset asthmatics.

But here’s what amazes me – no one seems particularly worried about why these asthmatics are producing all these extra immune cells. Their bodies are seemingly responding to a threat, such as an allergy, that may signal a larger problem.

It seems to me the easiest way to treat these people would be to find and eliminate whatever is causing the heightened immune response. Then they might not need any drugs at all.

I’ve been able to do that consistently when treating asthmatics. I’ve found that their symptoms are often caused by a simple allergy that can be discovered through more thorough testing.

That’s a lot simpler than taking a drug for the rest of your life, and it’s a cure – not just a treatment for the symptoms.

Once you have that, you may be able to lose the drugs and breathe easier on your own.