Frank C. Sciurba, MD

Expanding Precision Medicine in COPD With Mepolizumab, with Frank Sciurba, MD

The recent approval of mepolizumab for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) marks another step forward for the treatment landscape, offering clinicians a biologic therapy that targets a distinct inflammatory pathway.

 Unlike traditional COPD regimens, which rely heavily on long-acting bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids, mepolizumab acts through IL-5 modulation to address TH2-driven inflammation, particularly in patients with elevated eosinophil counts.

Following the 2023 approval of dupilumab, which targets the IL-4/IL-13 axis, mepolizumab becomes the second biologic option for TH2-high COPD and expands the toolkit for precision medicine in a historically underserved population.

 While approximately 20–30% of patients may qualify based on eosinophil levels, the drug’s safety profile has been favorable across trials, showing no increased adverse events over placebo.

 spoke with principal investigator Frank Sciurba, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Medical Director of the Pulmonary Physiology Laboratory in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, to learn more about his reaction to mepolizumab’s approval and what it means for the COPD population.

“Just within the last couple years now, we've really now started to achieve that promise of new products for COPD with new mechanisms and indications. The first TH2 modulating drug, dupilumab, was approved last year, and it's a different mechanism of action. This is IL-5 modulation versus the IL-4a receptor, which modulates IL-13 and IL-4, and it's very likely that those differences will result in some difference in responses in individual patients," Sciurba said.

Nucala (mepolizumab) approved by US FDA for use in adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). News release. GSK. May 22, 2025. https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/press-releases/nucala-mepolizumab-approved-by-us-fda/

Dupixent® (dupilumab) Approved in the U.S. as the First-ever Biologic Medicine for Patients with COPD. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. September 27, 2024. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/09/27/2954552/0/en/Dupixent-dupilumab-Approved-in-the-U-S-as-the-First-ever-Biologic-Medicine-for-Patients-with-COPD.html. Date accessed: September 27, 2024.

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Sciurba shared his excitement for the recent approval of mepolizumab for people with COPD and an eosinophilic phenotype.

Frank C. Sciurba, MD

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