mepolizumab

Mepolizumab is a fully humanized IgG1 kappa monoclonal antibody that acts as an interleukin-5 (IL-5) antagonist. It binds to IL-5, blocking its interaction with the IL-5 receptor on eosinophils, thereby inhibiting their growth, differentiation, recruitment, activation, and survival. This leads to a reduction in blood eosinophil levels and provides therapeutic benefit in diseases driven by eosinophilic inflammation. Mepolizumab is primarily indicated as an add-on maintenance treatment for severe asthma with an eosinophilic phenotype in patients aged six years and older whose disease is not controlled with current therapies. It is also approved for use in adults with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA), hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) for patients 12 years and older who have had the condition for at least six months, and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) in adults when standard treatments are inadequate. Developed by GSK (GlaxoSmithKline), mepolizumab was first approved by the FDA in November 2015 under the brand name Nucala.

Brand names

Nucala

Other names

mepolizumab