A new treatment is giving hope to people suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Geoffrey Pointing, a 77-year-old from Banbury, UK, shared his experience after receiving the injection. He said, “When you’re having a flare-up, it’s very difficult to tell anybody how you feel-you can hardly breathe…But on the injections, it’s fantastic. I didn’t get any side effects like I used to with the steroid tablets. I used to never sleep well the first night of taking steroids, but the first day on the study, I could sleep that first night, and I was able to carry on with my life without problems.”
The new drug, called Benralizumab, targets specific white blood cells in the body to reduce lung inflammation. It is already being used to treat asthma and has now shown success in managing COPD flare-ups.
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Study shows promising results
The study, called the ABRA trial, was led by King’s College London researchers and published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. It found that Benralizumab reduced the need for further treatment in COPD patients by 30%. This is a big improvement compared to the current treatment, which relies on steroid tablets like prednisolone.
Steroid tablets have been used for decades but can cause serious side effects such as diabetes and weak bones. Many patients also need repeated courses of steroids or face re-hospitalization. Dr. Sanjay Ramakrishnan, one of the researchers, said, “COPD is the third leading cause of death worldwide but treatment for the condition is stuck in the 20th century. We need to provide these patients with life-saving options before their time runs out.”
The study also showed that targeted therapy works better than giving the same treatment to everyone. Flare-ups, which can lead to severe and lasting lung damage, make up 30% of COPD and 50% of asthma attacks.
Challenges faced in India
In India, COPD and asthma are common due to air pollution and untreated respiratory conditions. However, the high cost of Benralizumab is a major challenge. A single injection costs Rs 1.48 lakh, making it too expensive for most people.
Dr. Sundeep Salvi, a member of the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), told BBC, “Very few people in India can afford this huge cost.” He also mentioned the need for more trials to prove the drug’s effectiveness.
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A step forward in treatment
The study is an important step in improving care for COPD patients. Targeted therapy like Benralizumab could become a lifesaver, especially for high-risk patients. Dr. Ramakrishnan said, “The big advance in the ABRA study is the finding that targeted therapy works in asthma and COPD attacks. Instead of giving everyone the same treatment, we found targeting the highest risk patients with very targeted treatment, with the right level of inflammation, was much better than guessing what treatment they needed.”
While the treatment is not yet affordable for everyone, it is a sign of progress in the fight against COPD and asthma.
