In the global landscape of respiratory diseases and the treatment of severe asthma, biologic drugs represented a major turning point. Studies have shown that biologic drug therapies can reduce annual asthma exacerbations, provide significant improvements in key respiratory function parameters such as predicted FEV1, reduce the need for systemic, oral, and inhaled corticosteroids, and improve the subjective symptomatology and disease control with associated improvements in quality of life. A high safety profile characterizes these drugs, especially when compared to the side effects given by corticosteroids. In addition, many studies are ongoing to demonstrate their efficacy profile during pregnancy.
To date, the most representative biologic drugs available are directed against specific targets: circulating IgE (e.g., omalizumab) and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-5 or their receptors such as IL-4/13R and IL-5R, (e.g., Mepolizumab, Benralizumab and Dupilumab). These same factors are the treatment targets for other clinical conditions, such as nasal polyposis refractory to surgical solutions and atopic dermatitis. Therefore, biologic drugs are effective solutions characterized by great heterogeneity of use.
Choosing the appropriate medication requires appropriate asthma phenotyping for each patient, giving due consideration to factors such as blood eosinophils, circulating IgE, number of annual exacerbations, respiratory function, airway inflammation parameters, and clinical evaluation. In this picture, the continued research and development of biologic drugs with a wider therapeutic window and increased clinical efficacy, together with the study of innovative therapeutic protocols such as biologic cycling, should be encouraged.
For this Article Collection, the goal is to solicit submission of any articles to provide readers with a conceptual and practical overview, with real-life experiences, of the main therapeutic solutions of biologics available, together with dedicated focuses on new biologic drugs under development and the most innovative application protocols, including but not limited to:
- New biologics development for asthma treatment
- Identification of novel targets for biologic therapies in asthma treatment
- Mechanisms of different biologics in asthma treatment
- Efficacy and safety of different biologic medications for asthma treatment
- Administration methods of different biologic medications for asthma treatment
- Optimization of patient selection and therapy duration for asthma treatment
- Long-term effects of biologic treatment on disease progression and patient quality of life
- Pharmacoeconomics for biologics in asthma treatment
Annals of Medicine accepts the following types of articles:
- Research Articles
- Clinical Studies
- Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
- Review Articles
- Mini Reviews
- Case Series
When submitting your article, please select the section, ‘Pulmonary Medicine’, and the Special Issue, ‘Biologic Therapy in Asthma Treatments’ from the drop-down menu on the submission system.
