Emerging therapeutic strategies for asthma management.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The describe the mechanisms of action of and clinical experience to date with novel asthma drug therapies. DATA SOURCES: This article is based, in part, on a presentation given by Eli O. Meltzer, MD, at a symposium entitled.New Frontiers in Asthma Management: Biotechnology for Optimal Therapeutic and Economic Outcomes. at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's 15th Annual Meeting and Showcase in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 10, 2003. CONCLUSIONS: Various elements of the pathophysiologic processes involved in allergic asthma, including type 2 helper T lymphocytes, cytokines, and immunoglobulin E (IgE), have been the targets of new drug research. Clinical experience with omalizumab, a humanized anti-IgE monoclonal antibody, is promising.