A twice-yearly shot that actually works — and fast. Patients with uncontrolled asthma using depemokimab saw meaningful improvements in symptoms, daily activity, and overall well-being as early as week 4, with benefits continuing through the full 52-week study. The ultra-low dosing schedule — just two injections a year — could also ease the treatment burden for patients managing a chronic condition.
Patients with uncontrolled type 2 asthma who received depemokimab (Exdensur, GSK) reported meaningful improvements in symptoms, physical activity, daily life impact, and overall well-being — and those gains showed up as early as week 4. Data from the phase 3 SWIFT-1/-2 trials, presented at the CHEST Annual Meeting, showed that benefits persisted all the way through 52 weeks, with the treatment group consistently outperforming placebo across every quality-of-life domain measured.
The study enrolled 559 patients with poorly controlled asthma, comparing subcutaneous 100 mg doses of depemokimab given every 26 weeks against placebo. Researchers used the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) to track changes across symptom, activity, and impact domains — all showing greater improvements in the depemokimab group at every time point.
By the Numbers
Why it matters: For asthma patients juggling frequent medication schedules, a biologic that requires only two doses per year — while delivering rapid and sustained quality-of-life improvements — could be a meaningful step forward in long-term disease management.
