King's College London

Benralizumab, a single injection given during an asthma or COPD attack, outperformed the steroid pills that have been the only emergency option since the 1970s. In a King’s College London trial of 158 patients, those who got the shot had four times fewer treatment failures over 90 days, along with easier breathing and fewer follow-up visits. Because steroids carry real risks with repeated use — diabetes, osteoporosis, and more — a genuine alternative could change daily life for millions of people who live in fear of the next flare-up. After a half-century of stalled progress on diseases that claim 3.8 million lives a year, this feels like the door finally opening.

Asthma and COPD treatment may be on the verge of its biggest advance in 50 years, after a clinical trial found that a single injection of benralizumab outperformed standard steroid tablets for treating acute attacks. The study, published in Lancet Respiratory Medicine, showed four times fewer treatment failures at three months and 30% fewer follow-up interventions among patients receiving the injection. The trial targeted eosinophilic flare-ups, the biological subtype behind roughly half of all asthma attacks and nearly a third of COPD episodes. Together, the two conditions kill an estimated 3.8 million people annually, yet the standard of care has remained largely unchanged since the 1970s.