ArticleBMJ open respiratory research2024
What is the true target population for biologics in real-life COPD or asthma-COPD overlap patients?
Article in BMJ open respiratory research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Biologics in Older Adults with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Beyond inhaled medications: precision medicine and biologic therapies targeting the IL-33/TSLP/type 2 axis in COPD.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Research Progress and Comparative Evaluation of Three Cutting-Edge Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Treatment Strategies: Biologics, Bronchoscopic Lung Volume Reduction, and Stem Cell Therapies.International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease · 2026Review
- Established and Emerging Biological Therapies for the Treatment of Comorbid Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.Journal of inflammation research · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionBiologics provide significant benefits in asthma, reducing exacerbations and symptoms. Some biologics have shown promising results in small subgroups of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and frequent exacerbations. Nevertheless, real-life data on the size of the COPD target population remain scarce.
methodsWe analysed the characteristics of COPD and coexisting asthma and COPD patients included in the prospective multicentre, French COhort of BRonchial obstruction and Asthma, between 2008 and 2023 and evaluated the number of patients who could correspond to the inclusion criteria of randomised controlled trials evaluating various biologics targeting interleukin 33 (IL-33) (-receptor), IL-5 (-receptor), IL-4Rα or TSLP, in routine clinical practice.
resultsAmong 434 COPD patients, only 21.7% met inclusion criteria for at least one biologic. Among patients with asthma, 54 (3.5%) had coexisting features of COPD in terms of age, smoking status and airflow obstruction and met inclusion criteria for at least one biologic. Notably, these patients were predominantly female, with worse lung function. Globally, the target chronic airway diseases population of the eagerly awaited biologics remains limited to a small part (ie, 1.3%-8%, depending on the biologic).
conclusionIn a real-life COPD and asthma population (including asthmatic patients with features of COPD), the proportion of patients satisfying selection criteria applied in randomised controlled trials assessing the efficacy of biologics remains limited to less than 10% of the whole population.
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