Nucala represents another treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma. This type of asthma generally begins in adults rather than children and does not represent an allergy in the traditional sense. People suffering with this type of lung disease demonstrate elevated levels of circulating white blood cells known as eosinophils.
Benefits include moderate control of asthma for most affected individuals with some demonstrating significant improvement while others receive only minimal assistance. The drug is injected once a month just under the skin by a health care practitioner.
Currently a feeding frenzy exists with regard to asthma therapies. With less profit in the standard inhalers, many pharmaceutical companies are pursuing pricier alternatives. Among the currently available options are Nucala, Fasenra, Cinqair, Xolair and Dupixent with many more anxiously waiting in the wings for final FDA approval.
All of these drugs offer some advantages over the traditional inhaled therapies for those experiencing difficult to control eosinophilic asthma of at least moderate intensity. It needs to be kept in mind that none of these medicines are meant to be used by themselves. None will combat acute attacks of asthma.
Nucala’s cash price for 28 days of therapy is about $5200 or about $185 a day. Within the past eight months the price increased more than 10%. GSK, the drug company responsible for Nucala enjoys worldwide sales of more than $100,000,000.00 a day.