GSK announces SWIFT-1, SWIFT-2 trials on depemokimab met primary endpoints

GSK announced headline results from the phase III clinical trials SWIFT-1 and SWIFT-2, which assessed the efficacy and safety of depemokimab versus placebo in adults and adolescents with severe asthma with type 2 inflammation characterised by blood eosinophil count. Both SWIFT-1 and SWIFT-2 met their primary endpoints of a reduction in the annualised rate of clinically significant exacerbations over 52 weeks. Across both trials the overall incidence and severity of treatment-emergent adverse events were similar in patients treated with either depemokimab or placebo. Further analysis of these data is ongoing. Depemokimab is the first ultra-long-acting biologic to be evaluated in phase III trials with a binding affinity and high potency for interleukin-5, enabling six-month dosing intervals for patients with severe asthma. Expertise in respiratory diseases and the science of IL-5 has informed the ongoing evidence generation program evaluating the impact of six-month dosing of sustained IL-5 inhibition in patients achieving clinical remission in severe asthma. The full results of SWIFT-1 and SWIFT-2 will be presented at an upcoming scientific congress and will be used to support regulatory submissions to health authorities worldwide.