Tezepelumab Reduces Steroid Dependence in Severe Asthma While Preserving Asthma Control: Study
New results from the Phase 3 SUNRISE clinical trial show that tezepelumab significantly reduced the need for long-term oral corticosteroid use in adults with severe oral corticosteroid-dependent asthma while maintaining asthma control and improving key clinical outcomes. The findings were published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine(Opens in a new window).
The multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluated adults with severe asthma who rely on daily oral corticosteroids despite treatment with high-dose inhaled therapies. Patients treated with tezepelumab were nearly three times more likely than those receiving a placebo to achieve greater reductions in their daily oral corticosteroid dose while maintaining asthma control.
“Long-term oral corticosteroid use can have devastating consequences for patients, including diabetes, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and significant impacts on quality of life,” said Michael Wechsler, MD, lead author on the study and director of the Cohen Family Asthma Institute at National Jewish Health. “These findings are important because they show that patients with severe asthma treated with tezepelumab may be able to substantially reduce their dependence on oral steroids without sacrificing asthma control.”
Over the 28-week treatment period, 69% of patients receiving tezepelumab achieved at least a 50% reduction in oral corticosteroid dose compared to 44% of patients receiving the placebo. In addition, 35% of patients treated with tezepelumab were able to completely stop use of oral corticosteroids, compared to 21% in the placebo group.
Reference:
Wechsler M, Brightling C, Brusselle G et al. Efficacy and safety of tezepelumab versus placebo in reducing oral corticosteroid use in adults with severe, oral corticosteroid-dependent asthma (SUNRISE): a multicentre, placebo-controlled, double-blind, phase 3 trial The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 2026, DOI: 10.1016/S2213-2600(26)00076-7
