An injectable biological therapy used to treat severe eosinophilic asthma.
NUCALA is an interleukin-5 (IL-5) antagonist monoclonal antibody (IgG1 kappa) indicated for: • Add-on maintenance treatment of adult and pediatric patients aged 6 years and older with severe asthma and with an eosinophilic phenotype. ( 1.1 ) • Add-on maintenance treatment of adult patients aged 18 years and older with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP). ( 1.2 ) • Add-on maintenance treatment of adult patients with inadequately controlled chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and an eosinophilic phenotype. ( 1.3 ) • The treatment of adult patients with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA). ( 1.4 ) • The treatment of adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) for greater than or equal to 6 months without an identifiable non-hematologic secondary cause. ( 1.5 ) Limitations of use: Not for relief of acute …
12.1 Mechanism of Action Mepolizumab is an IL-5 antagonist (IgG1 kappa). IL-5 is the major cytokine responsible for the growth and differentiation, recruitment, activation, and survival of eosinophils. Mepolizumab binds to IL-5 with a dissociation constant of 100 pM, inhibiting the bioactivity of IL-5 by blocking its binding to the alpha chain of the IL-5 receptor complex expressed on the eosinophil cell surface. Inflammation is an important component in the pathogenesis of asthma, CRSwNP, COPD, EGPA, and HES. Multiple cell types (e.g., mast cells, eosinophils, neutrophils, macrophages, lymphocytes) and mediators (e.g., histamine, eicosanoids, leukotrienes, cytokines) are involved in inflam…
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Plain-English summaries and drug-class explainers are written and reviewed by the Priya Life Science editorial team, led by Sreepriya Prasannan (MSc Digital Transformation of Life Sciences (Innopharma Education / Griffith College); MSc & BSc Botany). Data is retrieved automatically from the sources above and cross-checked with AI-assisted verification (Anthropic's Claude) — brand and generic names are matched against the exact FDA product record so that a combination product or a different formulation cannot be mistaken for the drug on this page. An editor reviews the result before publication. We describe this in full in our editorial standards and corrections policy. The FDA data on this page was last retrieved on 7 Aug 2026.