
Personalized Care and the Use of New Biologics
Two large trials, DREAM and MENSA have found IL-5 therapy with mepolizumab to lower risk of exacerbation in patients with asthma with an eosinophilic phenotype.
Epinephrine is the first-line therapy for anaphylactic reactions. The market now includes Auvi-Q, a self-injectable epinephrine with a prompting audiovisual system. There is a comparative study of the traditional EpiPen vs Auvi-Q that indicates that the 0.3mg dose of epinephrine was bioequivalent with similar peak and epinephrine exposure. Safety and tolerability were also similar. Although, Auvi-Q had less injection site pain and bleeding. The self-instructing delivery system may also ease the anxiety of users unfamiliar with injections during an emergency.
Edwards ES, Gunn R, Simons ER, et al : Bioavailability of epinephrine from Auvi-Q compared with EpiPen. Ann All Asthma Immunol. 2013; 11:132-137.