A Comparison of Adverse Effect Profiles of Two Anti-IL-5 Therapies in Adults with Uncontrolled Asthma

Abstract

: The aim of this study was to compare the adverse effect profiles of mepolizumab MPZ and benralizumab BRZ in adults with uncontrolled asthma. A network meta-analysis of phase 3 trials was conducted to compare the adverse effects of MPZ and BRZ in patients with uncontrolled asthma. The MEDLINEPubMed, Scopus and the Cochrane library databases were searched to identify any relevant articles. The outcome measures of fatal adverse events, headache, and injection site reaction are presented as odds ratios ORs with 95 confidence intervals CIs . The surface under the cumulative curve SUCRA for each outcome was also compared among MPZ, BRZ, and placebo treatments. Four randomized controlled trials of MPZ 100 mg s/c every four weeks 100-MPZ or BRZ 30 mg s/c every eight weeks 30-BRZ met the criteria for inclusion in the study. The ORs and 95 CIs of 100-MPZ compared with BRZ for fatal adverse events, headache, and injection site reaction were 0.26 0.01-4.90 , 0.79 0.40-1.54 , and 2.32 0.79-6.80 , respectively. SUCRAs for 100-MPZ, 30-BRZ, and placebo were 0.8, 0.3, and 0.4 for fatal adverse events, 0.5, 0.1, and 0.8 for headache, and 0.0, 0.6, and 0.8 for injection site reaction, respectively. There were no signi cant differences in the incidence of fatal adverse events, headache, and injection site reaction between MPZ and BRZ treatment. However, the SUCRA values indicate an association between administration of BRZ and the occurrence of fatal adverse event or headache, or between administration of MPZ and the occurrence of injection site reaction. Moreover, the incidence odds of injection site reaction were signi cantly higher in the MPZ group than in the placebo group. Further analysis will be needed to clarify the details of safety pro les of these anti-IL-5 therapies.