Good news for severe asthma patients: tezepelumab reduced annual exacerbation rates across all blood neutrophil count levels, according to pooled data from the PATHWAY and NAVIGATOR trials presented at CHEST 2026. While the biologic worked broadly, patients with higher blood eosinophil counts (≥300 cells/µL) saw the biggest reductions. The findings also shed new light on how neutrophils may play a role in severe, uncontrolled asthma.
Tezepelumab delivers across the board for severe asthma
Tezepelumab (Tezspire) reduced annual asthma exacerbation rates in patients with severe, uncontrolled asthma regardless of their blood neutrophil counts — a finding that could broaden confidence in the biologic's utility. The data, pooled from the PATHWAY and NAVIGATOR randomized trials and presented at CHEST 2026, included 1,334 patients aged 12–80 who received either tezepelumab (210 mg subcutaneously every 4 weeks) or placebo for up to 52 weeks.
While the drug worked across all patient subgroups, those with high blood eosinophil counts (≥300 cells/µL) experienced the greatest benefit. Notably, patients with high blood neutrophil counts had worse baseline asthma control, suggesting neutrophils may be an important driver of disease severity.
By the Numbers
Why it matters: These findings support tezepelumab's broad efficacy profile, offering reassurance to clinicians treating severe asthma patients who don't fit the classic high-eosinophil phenotype. It also opens the door to better understanding neutrophil-driven asthma — a historically harder-to-treat subgroup.
