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news.Japan-based Kyowa Hakko Kirin has started a Calima, one of several trials in the Phase III program for benralizumab, and also plans to initiate Sirocco, another Phase III trial in South Korea.
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Both Calima and Sirocco are the multinational trials that have been already started by AstraZeneca and MedImmune, the licensee of benralizumab.
The company is participating in these trials as the In-Country Caretaker in Japan and as the IND Holder in South Korea.
Benralizumab is a monoclonal antibody binding to the interleukin-5 receptor a subunit (IL-5Ra) using the Potelligent technology that improves ADCC activity of antibodies.
The drug reduces eosinophils, which plays a major role in the cause and severity of asthma and asthma exacerbations, also known as asthma attacks.
Main aim of these two trials is to determine whether the drug benralizumab reduces the number of exacerbations in patients with severe asthma who remain uncontrolled, despite high doses of inhaled corticosteroids in combination with a second controller such as a long-acting beta agonist (LABA).