Reslizumab Compared with Benralizumab in Patients with Eosinophilic Asthma: A Systematic Literature Review and Network Meta-Analysis

Background: The interaction of IL-5 with its receptor on eosinophils increases the activation and maintenance of eosinophils; blocking this interaction reduces asthma symptoms in patients with the eosinophilic phenotype. Reslizumab, which binds to IL-5, and benralizumab, which targets the IL-5 receptor α subunit, have not been compared in head-to-head trials.

Objective: To indirectly compare reslizumab with benralizumab in similar patient populations using a network meta-analysis.

Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted and a network meta-analysis was performed on eligible studies using the Markov Chain Monte-Carlo simulation method and a Bayesian statistical framework.

Results: Eleven studies were identified, 4 of which evaluated clinically relevant doses and had outcomes at similar time points. To control for population differences, subgroups were selected for the base-case efficacy analysis: a benralizumab subgroup with blood eosinophil levels of greater than or equal to 300 cells/μL (n = 1537) and a reslizumab subgroup in Global Initiative for Asthma step 4/5 with 2 or more previous exacerbations and greater than or equal to 400 eosinophils/μL (n = 318). Safety was analyzed in the full population (N = 3462). Reslizumab significantly improved Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ) and Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) scores compared with benralizumab once every 4 weeks and there were reasonably high posterior probabilities that reslizumab is superior to benralizumab once every 4 weeks and once every 8 weeks for ACQ score, AQLQ score, FEV₁, and clinical asthma exacerbations.

Conclusions: This indirect comparison suggests that reslizumab may be more efficacious than benralizumab in patients with eosinophilic asthma in Global Initiative for Asthma step 4/5 with elevated blood eosinophil levels (benralizumab, ≥300/μL; reslizumab, ≥400/μL) and 2 or more exacerbations in the previous year.