A ‘LIFE-SAVING’ jab for severe asthma that could prevent deadly attacks with just two doses a year could be available to patients in the UK within months.
Depemokimab – developed by the drug giant GlaxoSmithKline – was given the green light by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) this month.
The “ultra long-acting” injectable drug was found to slash the number of dangerous asthma attacks leading to hospital admissions by 72 per cent, with minimal side effects.
It contains antibodies that target inflammation in the lungs.
The treatment is expected to go on sale privately in the first half of 2026, under the brand name Exdensur, The Times reported.
Meanwhile, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) will decide next year whether it can be prescribed on the NHS.
Dame Emma Walmsley, the outgoing chief executive of GSK, said: “Our research shows this medicine will reduce the kind of attacks that cause hospitalisation, the really properly scary ones.”
Asthma is a condition that inflames and narrows the airways in the lungs, making breathing difficult.
About 7.2 million people in the UK have it, according to Asthma + Lung UK.
Six million of those are thought to be in England, and 58,000 suffer from what’s known as uncontrolled severe asthma.
This can mean someone has asthma symptoms and is at risk of life-threatening flare-ups or asthma attacks, despite taking treatment for it.
Results from a trial of 762 patients found that depemokimab reduced clinically significant asthma attacks by 54 per cent and cut hospital admissions by 72 per cent.
The MHRA approved the drug as an add-on treatment for asthma for adults and children aged 12 and older, “whose symptoms remain inadequately controlled despite treatment with standard of care”.
It can also be given to adults with a condition called severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP).
In patients with these conditions, depemokimab works by blocking a key protein – known as interleukin-5 – and reducing inflammation that plays a major role in both asthma and CRSwNP.
Julian Beach, MHRA interim executive director for healthcare quality and access, said: “These conditions affect a significant number of people across the UK, and in some cases can be difficult to manage despite existing treatments.
“This approval represents another potential treatment option for patients living with some forms of these conditions whose symptoms have not been adequately controlled with current therapies.
“As with all licensed medicines, we will keep the safety and effectiveness of depemokimab under close review.”
Kaivan Khavandi, global head of respiratory, immunology and inflammation R&D at GSK, said: “Today’s UK approval of Exdensur, the first in the world, has the potential to redefine care for millions of patients.
“This ultra-long-acting biologic delivers sustained efficacy to reduce asthma exacerbations, keep patients out of hospital and help prevent cumulative lung damage in just two doses a year.
Do you have severe asthma?
Severe asthma is a type of asthma where symptoms are harder to control, even with high doses of medicines.
Most people with asthma can manage their symptoms well with a preventer inhaler and a reliever inhaler.
Others may need extra support from their GP or asthma nurse, and sometimes add-on treatments, to get better control of their symptoms.
These people may be told they have ‘difficult asthma’.
But for severe asthma, more specialist treatments are needed to control symptoms and reduce asthma attacks.
Sometimes it can take a while to find the combination of medicines and doses that works best for you.
Around 200,000 people in the UK have severe asthma.
Source: Asthma + Lung UK
“This is a step change in respiratory treatment, and we look forward to additional regulatory decisions expected in the US, Japan, EU and China.”
The most common side effects of the medicine include itchy skin, headache, tiredness, and injection site reactions.
They may affect more than one in 10 people, according to the MHRA.
Existing treatments for asthma are taken every two, four or eight weeks.
Experts believe depemokimab, a type of drug known as a “biologic”, will reduce the time patients need to take off work and free up NHS resources.
Nick Hopkinson, medical director of the charity Asthma + Lung UK, said: “This is an important step forward. Biologic therapies are becoming more normal, and this means patients can get along with their lives without needing regular treatment.”
Last month, Asthma and Lung UK said there has been a 23 per cent increase in emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions – such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – in the last two years.
Between April 2024 and March 2025, there were 2,268,865 emergency hospital admissions for respiratory conditions in England, compared to 1,841,010 between April 2022 and March 2023.
Last year, another injectable treatment called benralizamab was hailed as “game-changing” for asthma sufferers admitted to hospital after a flare-up.
