Targeted Therapies in Severe Asthma: When to Use Them (and Why)

This activity has EXPIRED and is no longer available for credit.


This CME-certified enduring activity is jointly provided by
  

Support for this activity has been provided through an educational grant from Sanofi Genzyme and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

Release date: 9/19/2019
Expiration date:  9/19/2020
Estimated time to complete: 0.75 hours

Overview

As the incidence of asthma—and the number of patients with severe, treatment-resistant asthma—continues to rise, the need for new management strategies has never been greater. Fortunately, several new tailored biologic therapies have recently been developed for certain patients with treatment-resistant severe asthma. The discovery that severe asthma comprises multiple phenotypes and discrete endotypes linked to distinct patterns of airway remodeling and inflammatory pathophysiology holds the promise of enabling clinicians to better target therapies suited for a given patient’s disease.

This interactive activity has been developed to help clinicians identify severe asthma phenotypes and endotypes, adopt strategies for matching patient types with the most effective targeted therapies, and better understand the mechanisms underlying the use of biologic therapy for the treatment of patients with severe asthma.

Faculty

Michael E. Wechsler, MD, MMSc—Program Chair
Professor of Medicine
Director, Cohen Family Asthma Institute
National Jewish Health
Denver, Colorado

Reynold A. Panettieri, Jr., MD
Professor of Medicine
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School
Vice Chancellor for Translational Medicine and Science
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, New Jersey

Target Audience

This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of allergists, immunologists, pulmonologists, and primary care providers (including nurse practitioners and physician assistants) involved in the care of patients with severe asthma.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be better able to:
  • Describe the role of cells and cytokines in driving asthma inflammation and endotype expression
  • Discuss the main phenotypes and endotypes in severe asthma and their treatment implications
  • Summarize the differences between the biologic therapies used in severe asthma treatment
  • Evaluate recent clinical advances with the use of biologic therapies in the management of severe asthma and identify the most appropriate candidates for this form of therapy

Accreditation and Credit Designation

In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and RedMedEd. Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the health care team.

Physicians
Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Advanced Practice Nurses, Nurses, Physician Assistants
Advanced practice nurses, nurses, and physician assistants may participate in this educational activity and earn a letter of attendance, as AANP, ANCC, and AAPA accept AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ through their reciprocity agreements.

Peer Review
To help ensure content objectivity, independence, and fair balance, and to ensure that the content is aligned with the interest of the public, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences has resolved all potential and real conflicts of interest through content review by a non-conflicted, qualified reviewer. This activity was peer-reviewed for relevance, accuracy of content, and balance of presentation by Sugeet Jagpal, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey.

This activity was pilot-tested for time required for participation by Karim Akl, MD, Ibrahim El Husseini, MD, and Renuka Rajagopal, MD.

Disclosure

According to the disclosure policy of Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and to conform with Joint Accreditation requirements and FDA guidelines, individuals who are in a position to control the content of this educational activity are required to disclose to activity participants the existence of any relevant relationships with any entity producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients, with the exception of nonprofit or government organizations and non–health care related companies, within the past 12 months. The existence of these interests or relationships is not viewed as implying bias or decreasing the value of the presentation. Disclosures are as follows:

Faculty
Michael E. Wechsler, MD, MMSc, has disclosed the following relevant financial relationships:
Grant/Research Support: AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA
Consultant: AstraZeneca, Equillium, Gala Therapeutics, Genentech, Genzyme, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Pulmatrix, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, resTORbio, Sanofi, Sentien Biotechnologies, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA

Reynold A. Panettieri, Jr., MD, has disclosed the following relevant financial relationships:
Grant/Research Support: AstraZeneca, Equillium, MedImmune, Research Institute for Fragrance Materials, Teva Pharmaceuticals USA
Speakers Bureau: AstraZeneca, Genentech, Sanofi Genzyme/Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
Scientific Advisory Board: AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Equillium, MedImmune, Research Institute for Fragrance Materials, Theravance Biopharma

Reviewer
Sugeet Jagpal, MD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Field Testers
Karim Akl, MD, Ibrahim El Husseini, MD, and Renuka Rajagopal, MD, have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

RBHS Center for Continuing and Outreach Education
Patrick Dwyer, Director, CME, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

RedMedEd
Denise LaTemple, PhD, Director of Scientific Services, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Yvette Murley, PhD, Medical Director, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Heather Rafa, Program Manager, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Jonathan S. Simmons, ELS, Senior Managing Editor, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Karen Smith, Creative Director, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Unapproved Product Use

This educational activity contains discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the US Food and Drug Administration. The activity includes a discussion of the investigational use of nonapproved products, including etokimab, fevipiprant, and tezepelumab. Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and RedMedEd do not recommend the use of any agent outside the labeled indications.

Disclaimer

The information presented in this activity is for continuing medical education purposes only and is not meant to substitute for the independent medical judgment of a physician regarding diagnosis and treatment of a specific patient’s medical condition.

The opinions expressed in this educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of any manufacturer of pharmaceuticals or devices, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, or RedMedEd. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Method of Participation

There are no fees to participate in the activity. Participants must review all activity information, including the learning objectives, disclosure statements, and content. To receive CME credit for participation, participants must complete the posttest (achieving a passing grade of 80% or greater) and program evaluation. Certificates can be printed immediately.

Contact Information

For questions regarding CME credit, contact Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences at 973-972-4267 or ccoe@rbhs.rutgers.edu.
For technical questions related to this activity, please contact RedMedEd at 610.251.6841 or education@redmeded.com.

Hardware/Software Requirements

  • Apple iPad (iOS 11 or higher) with an Internet connection
  • A computer with an Internet connection
    • Internet browser (PC): Google Chrome, Internet Explorer 11 or higher, or Firefox 66.0.2 or higher
    • Internet browser (Mac): Google Chrome, Firefox 66.0.2, or Safari 10.14 or higher
    • Additional software: Adobe Flash Player and/or an HTML 5-capable browser is required for video or audio playback; Adobe Acrobat Reader may occasionally be required

Privacy

This website is managed by RedMedEd, and RedMedEd’s printed privacy policy applies to this site. CME credit for this activity is provided by Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. If you register for CME credit for this educational activity, RedMedEd will forward relevant personally identifiable information to Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences so that records can be maintained concerning any credits issued to you. Aggregated data concerning registrations, posttests, and evaluations may be shared, but RedMedEd will not knowingly share any personally identifiable information. Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences may use the information you provide on this site to contact you about your CME credit or other relevant educational activities provided through Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. To review Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences’ CE privacy policy, click here http://ccoe.rbhs.rutgers.edu/general/privacypolicy.html

Copyright

© 2019. This CME-certified program is held as copyrighted by Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. Through this notice, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and RedMedEd grant permission of its use for educational purposes only. These materials may not be used, in whole or in part, for any commercial purposes without prior permission in writing from the copyright owners.