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one asthma A treatment will be available in the UK that would prevent life-threatening attacks with just two annual vaccinations.
Pharmaceutical major GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has received marketing authorization for depemokimab from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
The treatment, which will be sold under the brand name Exdensur, is an “ultra-long-acting” version of the biologic treatment containing lung inflammation.
It is the first of its kind and can treat respiratory conditions with just two doses per year.
Kaivan Khavandi, senior vice president and global head of respiratory, immunology and inflammation R&D at GSK, said: “Today’s UK approval they are stretchedis the first of its kind in the world and has the potential to redefine care for millions of patients.
“This ultra-long-acting biologic delivers sustained efficacy in just two doses per year, reducing asthma attacks, keeping patients out of hospital and helping to prevent cumulative lung damage.
“This is a significant change in the respiratory therapy space and we look forward to additional regulatory decisions in the U.S., Japan, EU and China.”
Results from a trial of 762 patients found the drug reduced clinically significant asthma attacks by 54% and hospital admissions by 72%.
Asthma is a disease in which the airways in the lungs become inflamed and narrowed, causing difficulty breathing, while severe chronic sinusitis is inflammation of the nose and paranasal sinuses with symptoms lasting more than 12 weeks.
This inflammation can lead to soft tissue growths called nasal polyps.
The drug is given as an injection under the skin every six months.
The treatment will be available privately in the first half of 2026, and regulator Nice will decide whether to prescribe it on the NHS, The Times reported.
Julian Beach, interim executive director of care quality and access at the MHRA, said: “These diseases affect large numbers of people across the UK and, in some cases, remain difficult to control despite existing treatments.
“This approval represents another potential treatment option for patients with certain forms of these diseases whose symptoms have not been adequately controlled with current treatments.
“As with all licensed medicines, we will closely review the safety and effectiveness of depemokimab.”
last month, asthma and Lung UK said emergency admissions to hospital for respiratory conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have increased by 23% in the past two years alone.
There were 2,268,865 emergency hospital admissions for respiratory illnesses in England between April 2024 and March 2025, compared with 1,841,010 admissions between April 2022 and March 2023, an increase of 427,855.