SUNRISE Data Support Steroid Reduction in Severe Asthma: Michael Wechsler, MD, MMSc

Reducing long-term oral corticosteroid use remains one of the biggest priorities in severe asthma management, particularly for patients whose disease depends on chronic steroid therapy for symptom control.¹

These findings, presented at the American Thoracic Society 2026 International Conference in Orlando, Florida, demonstrated that tezepelumab (Tezspire; AstraZeneca) may help patients lower steroid exposure while maintaining asthma control.

The phase 3 SUNRISE (NCT05398263) study evaluated tezepelumab in patients with severe, oral corticosteroid-dependent asthma. Investigators found patients receiving tezepelumab were significantly more likely than those receiving placebo to achieve greater reductions in daily steroid dose at week 28 while still maintaining disease control. Improvements were also observed in lung function, asthma control, quality-of-life measures, and inflammatory biomarkers.

These findings underscore the clinical significance of reducing chronic steroid exposure for patients with severe asthma, Michael Wechsler, MD, MMSc, a professor in the department of medicine at National Jewish Health, explained in an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care^®.

“Oral steroids are associated with significant morbidity, and patients who are chronically on oral corticosteroids have many adverse effects, including cataracts and glaucoma and hypertension, amongst other things, depression, anxiety, and weight gain,” he said. “It’s important to get patients off of steroids.”

Wechsler noted that tezepelumab’s mechanism may differentiate it from other asthma biologics because it targets thymic stromal lymphopoietin, an upstream epithelial-derived cytokine involved in multiple inflammatory pathways. Unlike biologics that target a single cytokine pathway, tezepelumab may broadly suppress several downstream inflammatory signals simultaneously.

“One of the benefits of tezepelumab is that it works upstream to block many of these downstream cytokines and works a bit more broadly,” he said.

According to Wechsler, SUNRISE data also addressed lingering concerns among clinicians about whether tezepelumab would remain effective in patients dependent on oral corticosteroids. Despite recruitment challenges and a smaller-than-planned sample size, the study still met its primary end point, reinforcing tezepelumab’s potential role as an effective steroid-sparing therapy in severe asthma.

Reference

1. Wechsler ME, Brightling CE, Brusselle GG, et al. Efficacy and safety of tezepelumab versus placebo in reducing OCS use in OCS-dependent patients with severe asthma: results from the phase 3 Sunrise study. Presented at: American Thoracic Society 2026 International Conference; May 17-20, 2026; Orlando, FL. Poster 521.