Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42464416›Full record

ArticleAllergy, asthma, and clinical immunology : official journal of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology2026

Comparative effectiveness of mepolizumab and omalizumab in patients eligible for both: a retrospective cohort study.

Tatsuya Nagai, Naoki Inoshima, Hiroki Matsui, Norihiko Kubota, Yoshihiro Funaki, Ayumu Otsuki, Hiroyuki Ito, Kei Nakashima

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Allergy, asthma, and clinical immunology : official journal of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

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No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Tatsuya NagaiDepartment of Pulmonology, Kameda Medical Center, 929 Higashi-cho, Kamogawa, Chiba, 296-8602, Japan. nagai.tatsuya@kameda.jp.
Naoki InoshimaDepartment of Pulmonology, Kameda Medical Center, 929 Higashi-cho, Kamogawa, Chiba, 296-8602, Japan.
Hiroki MatsuiDepartment of Clinical Epidemiology and Health Economics, School of Public Health, the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Norihiko KubotaDepartment of Pulmonology, Kameda Medical Center, 929 Higashi-cho, Kamogawa, Chiba, 296-8602, Japan.
Yoshihiro FunakiDepartment of Pulmonology, Kameda Medical Center, 929 Higashi-cho, Kamogawa, Chiba, 296-8602, Japan.
Ayumu OtsukiDepartment of Pulmonology, Kameda Medical Center, 929 Higashi-cho, Kamogawa, Chiba, 296-8602, Japan.
Hiroyuki ItoDepartment of Pulmonology, Kameda Medical Center, 929 Higashi-cho, Kamogawa, Chiba, 296-8602, Japan.
Kei NakashimaDepartment of Pulmonology, Kameda Medical Center, 929 Higashi-cho, Kamogawa, Chiba, 296-8602, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOmalizumab and mepolizumab are effective biologic therapies for severe asthma. However, their comparative effectiveness in patients eligible for both treatments remains unclear in routine care. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the real-world effectiveness of mepolizumab and omalizumab in these patients.

methodsThis retrospective cohort study included patients with asthma who were treated with omalizumab or mepolizumab. Eligible patients had a blood eosinophil count ≥ 150 cells/μL (or ≥ 300 cells/μL within the prior year), total Immunoglobulin E (IgE) ≥ 30 IU/mL, and sensitization to a perennial inhalant allergen. The primary endpoint was the adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for asthma exacerbation during the first year of treatment. Secondary endpoints were IRRs for emergency room (ER) visits and hospitalizations, subgroup IRRs stratified by baseline eosinophil count (< 300 cells/μL vs. ≥ 300 cells/μL), and change in oral corticosteroid (OCS) dose. Poisson regression models were adjusted for BMI, eosinophil count, and prior-year exacerbations; ER and hospitalization models additionally adjusted for prior ER visits and hospitalizations. Follow-up time was accounted for via an offset term.

resultsWe included 49 patients (omalizumab, n = 25; mepolizumab, n = 24). Mepolizumab significantly reduced asthma exacerbations compared with omalizumab (IRR, 0.37; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.19-0.69). In the subgroup analyses, this effect was significant in patients with baseline eosinophil counts < 300 cells/μL (IRR, 0.38; 95% CI 0.14-0.88) but not in those with baseline eosinophil counts ≥ 300 cells/μL (IRR, 0.47; 95% CI 0.15-1.35). There were no significant between-group differences in the number of ER visits or hospitalizations. The OCS dose was reduced in both groups, with no significant between-group difference in the mean dose reduction.

conclusionsIn patients eligible for both therapies, mepolizumab reduced clinically significant exacerbations more than omalizumab in real-world practice. Although ER visits, hospitalizations, and OCS-sparing were comparable, these findings may help inform biologic selection when exacerbation reduction is prioritized but require confirmation in larger multicenter studies.

Indexed as

AsthmaDisease exacerbationMepolizumabOmalizumabRetrospective studies

Identifiers

PMID42464416
PMCPMC13660321

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.