Real-world characteristics and disease burden of patients with asthma prior to treatment initiation with mepolizumab or omalizumab: a retrospective cohort database study

Jean-Pierre Llanos,1 Christopher F Bell,1 Elizabeth Packnett,2 Ellen Thiel,2 Debra E Irwin,2 Beth Hahn,1 Hector Ortega3 1Respiratory, US Medical Affairs, GSK, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA; 2Truven Health Analytics, An IBM Watson Health Company, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; 3Respiratory, US Medical Affairs, GSK, La Jolla, CA, USA Purpose: Patients with severe asthma are eligible for asthma-specific biologics as add-on therapies, such as mepolizumab and omalizumab, when optimized controller therapies are unable to control their symptoms. However, few real-world data are available to describe the characteristics and associated economic burden of patients considered to be candidates for mepolizumab or omalizumab therapy.Methods: This retrospective cohort study investigated patients with asthma (≥12 years of age) identified at the time of first mepolizumab or omalizumab administration (index date) in the MarketScan™ Commercial Database. Data were collected during the 12-month period before the index date (baseline period) for two mutually exclusive patient groups (patients prescribed mepolizumab and omalizumab, respectively). Baseline demographics, history of exacerbations, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), and medical costs were investigated.Results: In total, 413 and 1,834 patients who had been prescribed mepolizumab or omalizumab, respectively, were identified. During the baseline period, patients prescribed mepolizumab experienced more exacerbations (81.4%vs 57.5%, P