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Tezepelumab: First Approval

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Abstract

Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) is an epithelial cell-derived cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma. Tezepelumab (tezepelumab-ekko; TEZSPIRE™) is a first-in-class human IgG2λ monoclonal antibody that inhibits the action of TSLP. Administered subcutaneously, it is being developed by Amgen and AstraZeneca for the treatment of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), chronic spontaneous urticaria and eosinophilic oesophagitis. Tezepelumab received its first approval on 17 December 2021 as an add-on maintenance treatment for patients aged ≥ 12 years with severe asthma in the USA; it is the only biologic approved for severe asthma with no phenotype (e.g. eosinophilic or allergic) or biomarker limitations. A regulatory assessment of tezepelumab for the treatment of asthma is currently underway in the EU and Japan. Tezepelumab received orphan drug designation for the treatment of eosinophilic oesophagitis in October 2021 in the USA, and is undergoing clinical development for the treatment of COPD, CRSwNP and chronic spontaneous urticaria. This article summarizes the milestones in the development of tezepelumab leading to this first approval for the add-on maintenance treatment of patients aged ≥ 12 years with severe asthma.

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    Sheridan M. Hoy

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  1. Sheridan M. Hoy
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Correspondence to Sheridan M. Hoy.

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The preparation of this review was not supported by any external funding.

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During the peer review process the manufacturer of the agent under review was offered an opportunity to comment on the article. Changes resulting from any comments received were made by the authors on the basis of scientific completeness and accuracy. S. M. Hoy is a salaried employee of Adis International Ltd/Springer Nature, and declares no relevant conflicts of interest. All authors contributed to the review and are responsible for the article content.

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This profile has been extracted and modified from the AdisInsight database. AdisInsight tracks drug development worldwide through the entire development process, from discovery, through pre-clinical and clinical studies to market launch and beyond.

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Hoy, S.M. Tezepelumab: First Approval. Drugs 82, 461–468 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40265-022-01679-2

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