Tezspire (tezepelumab-ekko) is a monthly injection used to treat severe asthma. It was approved by the FDA in 2021 for use in addition to other asthma controlling medicines in people 12 and older.
How Does Tezspire Work for Asthma?
Asthma treatment plans usually include controller medicines (such as a daily or twice daily controller inhaler) and rescue medicines that are to be used as needed for an asthma attack (such as an albuterol inhaler). Tezspire is an add-on controller medicine that helps to prevent asthma attacks and is not an asthma rescue medicine.
Tezspire is a monoclonal antibody (a type of protein) and also a thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) blocker. TSLP causes airway irritation and swelling (inflammation). By blocking TSLP, Tezspire helps to decrease airway irritation and swelling, therefore helping to decrease asthma symptoms.
How Was Tezspire Studied for Asthma?
Two clinical studies were conducted to test if Tezspire was safe and effective for severe asthma for adults and children aged 12 and up. People in the studies had severe asthma and had a history of asthma exacerbations that resulted in the need for steroid treatment or hospitalization.
The studies measured how often people had asthma exacerbations. The studies also measured patient’s forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), which is a lung function test, and included people who had an FEV1 below 80% of their predicted volume in adults and below 90% of their predicted volume in adolescents. The studies also measured effectiveness of Tezspire through an asthma symptom survey called the Asthma Control Questionnaire 6 (ACQ-6).
The studies included adults aged 12 to 64. The studies included people who were White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, and other races and ethnicities. People with a history of smoking and other breathing-related conditions were excluded from the study.
What Benefits Were Seen With Tezspire?
People in the studies continued their regular asthma treatments, which included inhaled corticosteroids and at least one additional asthma controller. The studies compared Tezspire to a placebo. The studies showed that after 52 weeks, people using Tezspire had 56% to 72% fewer asthma exacerbations than people using a placebo. Therefore, Tezspire was shown to be more effective than a placebo at decreasing asthma symptoms. There was also an improvement in FEV1 by 0.13 liters in people using Tezspire compared to the placebo. Lastly, 86% of people taking Tezspire showed an improvement in asthma symptoms reported using the ACQ-6, compared to 77% in the placebo group.
Your results may be different from what was seen in clinical studies.
What Types of Medicine Interactions Can Happen?
There are no known medicine interactions with Tezspire. Let your health care provider know what medicines you are taking and talk to your health care provider before starting any new medicines, vitamins, or supplements.
How Can I Get Tezspire and How Do I Take It?
Let your health care provider know if you are interested in Tezspire. You can discuss this with your primary care provider or asthma provider such as a pulmonologist. If you and your health care provider think that Tezspire is a good addition to your asthma medicines, your health care provider will help you get the medicine.
Tezspire is a subcutaneous (under the skin) injection that is typically taken every 4 weeks. It comes in a vial or prefilled syringe or pen. Tezspire can be given by your health care provider at their office or at a Tezspire treatment site. Your health care provider may decide that it is safe and appropriate for you to give yourself your Tezspire dose at home. If so, your health care provider will teach you how to give the injection to yourself. If taking Tezspire at home, your health care provider will help you get it through a specialty pharmacy, which will likely mail Tezspire to your home.
A savings card from the manufacturer may allow you to pay as little as $0 for your prescription. Whether you are eligible depends on the type of insurance plan you have and if your insurance covers Tezspire. You can find out more at copay.tezspiretogether.com/patient/enroll/welcome.
How Can I Tell If Tezspire Is Working?
You can tell if Tezspire is working because your asthma will improve. Your health care provider may measure this through the use of a questionnaire or scoring system such as an Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ-6) or asthma control test. Your health care provider may also measure this through in-person pulmonary function tests including measuring your FEV1. In the clinical studies, improvements in asthma symptoms were seen as early as the 2 weeks after the first dose.
Tezspire is not a rescue medicine for use during an asthma attack or asthma-related emergency. Let your health care provider know if your asthma does not get better or it worsens. Do not stop any of your other asthma medicines, including any steroid treatments, without first discussing with your health care provider.
How Can I Prevent Side Effects or Tell If a Side Effect Is Happening?
The most common side effects are sore throat, joint pain, and back pain. Other side effects are listed below.
Tezspire may reduce your body’s ability to fight certain infections including parasitic helminth (a type of worm) infections. If you have a helminth infection, talk to your health care provider about treating the infection before starting Tezspire.
Certain vaccines called “live attenuated” vaccines contain a weakened living version of a virus or bacteria. These types of vaccines have not been tested in people taking Tezspire. Do not receive live attenuated vaccines while you are taking Tezspire. Check with your health care to see if there are any vaccines that you should get before you start Tezspire.
In one of the clinical trials, people taking Tezspire had an increase in cardiovascular events such as heart attacks and strokes compared to those who were taking a placebo.
Skin reactions where you inject Tezspire, such as redness, swelling, or pain, can occur. If giving your own injections at home, injecting in a different spot each time and taking Tezspire out of the refrigerator 60 minutes before giving your dose helps prevent these skin reactions. Tell your health care provider if you have any side effects that bother you. Your health care provider may recommend short-term use of over-the-counter pain medications or application of a cold compress on the injection site to help with these temporary side effects.
It is not known if Tezspire is safe to use while pregnant or breastfeeding. Let your health care provider know right away if you plan to become pregnant, become pregnant, or if you are breastfeeding.
Tezspire may cause serious allergic reactions, including breathing problems, swelling, racing heart, or hives. Before taking Tezspire, tell your health care provider if you have ever had a serious allergic reaction. Stop taking Tezspire and get help right away if you have any symptoms of a serious allergic reaction.
Reports of side effects by persons are very important and are used to add information to the prescribing information. You don’t need to be certain that something you experienced was caused by Tezspire. If you experience anything that you think may be caused by Tezspire, you can report it by calling the FDA at 800-FDA-1088.
