Improving Outcomes in Severe Asthma

Faculty

Linda B. Ford, MD, FACAAI, FAAAAI, AE-C
Medical Director
The Asthma & Allergy Center
Bellevue, Nebraska

Neil R. MacIntyre, MD, FCCP
Professor of Medicine
Chief of Clinical Services
Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Medical Director, Respiratory Care Services
Duke University Medical Center
Durham, North Carolina

Michael E. Wechsler, MD, MMSc
Professor, Department of Medicine
Co-Director, The Cohen Family Asthma Institute
Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine
Director, Asthma Program
National Jewish Health
Denver, Colorado

Target Audience

The educational design of this activity addresses the needs of allergists/clinical immunologists, pulmonologists, and other clinicians involved in the ongoing management of patients with severe asthma.

Statement of Need/Program Overview

Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that affects more than 300 million people globally and more than 25 million adults and children in the United States.^1,2 There is an urgent need to improve the care of the estimated 5% to 15% of these patients who have severe asthma, which accounts for an outsized proportion of the disease’s morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs.^3,4 Indeed, heterogeneity in the clinical development and manifestations of asthma—amplified by such factors as symptomatic variability and common comorbidities—often leads to an underestimation of disease severity and markedly hinders the achievement of guideline-recommended treatment goals.⁵ Efforts to overcome these hurdles will be aided by the growing number of biomarkers for asthma diagnosis, classification, and control, as well as the expanding classes of targeted biologic therapies.^6,7 In this Clinical Research Updates™ program, a panel of expert pulmonologists and clinical immunologists discusses various approaches for identifying asthma phenotypes and endotypes to inform individualized therapeutic decision-making. The panel also reviews key presentations from the American Thoracic Society’s 2016 International Conference, translating new data into actionable advice on how current best practices are changing with the quickly evolving treatment landscape.

References

1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Asthma Facts: CDC’s National Asthma Control Program Grantees. 2013.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Summary Health Statistics for US Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2012.
3. Bahadori K, et al. Economic burden of asthma: A systematic review. BMC Pulm Med. 2009;9:24.
4. Levy ML. The national review of asthma deaths: What did we learn and what needs to change? Breathe (Sheff). 2015;11(1):14-24.
5. Lang DM. Severe asthma: Epidemiology, burden of illness, and heterogeneity. Allergy Asthma Proc. 2015;36(6):418-424.
6. Kim MA, et al. Adult asthma biomarkers. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2014;14(1):49-54.
7. Pavord ID, et al. Emerging biologics in severe asthma. Immunol Allergy Clin North Am. 2016;36(3):609-623.

Educational Objectives

After completing this activity, the participant will be better able to: 

• Describe the pathophysiologic underpinnings of severe asthma, including new insights into disease subtypes and therapeutic targets for biologic medications
• Characterize patients with severe asthma based on an understanding of epidemiologic data and comprehensive evaluations of ongoing symptoms and phenotypes
• Discuss the clinical profiles of cytokine-targeting biologics for patients with severe asthma
• Individualize ongoing therapy for patients with severe asthma to address symptom profiles, treatment history, biomarker evaluations, and exacerbation risks

Program Agenda

• Introduction
• Pathophysiology of Severe Asthma
• Identification of Patients With Severe Asthma
• Treating Severe Asthma With Biologic Therapy: Highlights From the 2016 ATS International Conference
• Addressing Treatment Adherence in Severe Asthma
• Concluding Comments

Physician Accreditation Statement

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of Global Education Group (Global) and Integritas. Global is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Physician Credit Designation

Global Education Group designates this activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Global Contact Information

For information about the accreditation of this program, please contact Global at 303-395-1782 or
inquire@globaleducationgroup.com

Instructions to Receive Credit

In order to receive credit, participants must complete the preactivity questionnaire, postactivity questionnaire, and program evaluation. Participants must also score at least 70% on the posttest

System Requirements

PC
Microsoft Windows 2000 SE or above.
Flash Player Plugin (v7.0.1.9 or greater)

MAC
MAC OS 10.2.8
Flash Player Plugin (v7.0.1.9 or greater)
Internet Explorer is not supported on the Macintosh.

Fee Information & Refund/Cancellation Policy

There is no fee for this educational activity.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

Global Education Group (Global) requires instructors, planners, managers, and other individuals and their spouses/life partners who are in a position to control the content of this activity to disclose any real or apparent conflict of interest they may have as related to the content of this activity. All identified conflicts of interest are thoroughly vetted by Global for fair balance, scientific objectivity of studies mentioned in the materials or used as the basis for content, and appropriateness of patient care recommendations.

The faculty reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouses/life partners have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity: 

Linda B. Ford, MD, FACAAI, FAAAAI, AE-C Grant & Research Support from Afferent Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Aimmune Therapeutics, Inc., AstraZeneca plc, Biota Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Circassia Pharmaceuticals plc, Genentech Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, F. Hoffman La-Roche AG, Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Novum Pharmaceutical Research Services, Inc., Pearl Therapeutics Inc., sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC, Zosano Pharma Corporation

Neil R. MacIntyre, MD, FCCP  Nothing to disclose

Michael Wechsler, MD, MMSc Consultant: Ambit Bioscience Corporation, AstraZenecan plc, BSCI, Genentech Inc., GliaCure Inc., Meda Pharmaceuticals Inc., Mylan Specialty L.P., Novartis Pharmacuticals Corporation, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC., Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc., Theravance Biopharma U.S. Inc., Tunitas Therapeutics, Inc., Vectura Group plc

The following planners and managers reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouses/life partners have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity:

Amanda Glazar, PhD      Nothing to disclose
Andrea Funk      Nothing to disclose
Laura Gilsdorf      Nothing to disclose
Jim Kappler, PhD      Nothing to disclose

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use

This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. Global Education Group (Global) and Integritas Communications do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications.  

The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization associated with this activity. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Disclaimer

Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of patient conditions and possible contraindications on dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.