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WASHINGTON -- Results from a phase III trial examining the impact of AstraZeneca's investigational respiratory disease biologic benralizumab on asthma exacerbations will be among the top studies presented at the American Thoracic Society meeting here.
The ZONDA trial was conducted to examine the monoclonal antibody's efficacy for reducing oral corticosteroid dosages and asthma exacerbations in patients with severe asthma. It is one of six AstraZeneca-sponsored phase III trials evaluating benralizumab for the treatment of patients with severe asthma.
In two other benralizumab trials, presented last September at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress, adding the biologic to standard-of-care treatment was shown to in patients with eosinophilic phenotype severe asthma.
Speaking Out in DC
On Tuesday, May 23, ATS members will take to the streets for a rally organized to bring attention to Trump administration policies that threaten key advocacy priorities of the ATS, including research funding, tobacco regulation, affordable healthcare, and clean air.
ATS President David Gozal, MD, and president-elect Marc Moss, MD, are among those scheduled to attend the ATS Rally on Capitol Hill: Lab Coats for Lungs, to be held in Upper Senate Park, across from the U.S. Capitol.
In a , organizers noted that the location of this year's meeting, "coupled with the degree of uncertainty surrounding many of the advocacy issues relevant to ATS members and their patients, makes this the optimal time to highlight the need for members of Congress to support legislative actions that promote funding for medical research and improve public health."
Other Hot Topics
More than 16,000 clinicians, residents, and medical students in pulmonary medicine and other disciplines are expected to attend this year's meeting, which will highlight new research in lung cancer, COPD, cystic fibrosis, and sleep medicine.
In an interview with MedPage Today, Gozal said the global impact of drug-resistant tuberculosis will be an important issue at this year's meeting.
"This old disease is not so old anymore. It continues to change and we can't ignore that," he said. "And it is increasingly affecting the U.S. We are seeing more cases of TB that are drug-resistant."
Gozal added that the impact of telomerase mutations on COPD and lung aging is another hot research topic to be addressed at the meeting, along with the impact of novel immunotherapies for the treatment of lung cancer.
Other highlights include a symposium on lung cancer screening as a teachable moment for tobacco cessation, determinants of long-term outcomes among critically ill older adults, and advances in the diagnosis and management of sarcoidosis.