Phenotype-Driven Therapeutics in Severe Asthma

Inhaled corticosteroids are the mainstay of asthma treatment using a step-up approach with incremental dosing and additional controller medications in order to achieve symptom control and prevent exacerbations. While most patients respond well to this treatment approach, some patients remain refractory despite high doses of inhaled corticosteroids and a long-acting beta-agonist. The problem lies in the heterogeneity of severe asthma, which is further supported by the emergence of severe asthma phenotypes. This heterogeneity contributes to the variability in treatment response. Randomized controlled trials involving add-on therapies in poorly controlled asthma have challenged the idea of a one size fits all approach targeting specific phenotypes in their subject selection. This review discusses severe asthma phenotypes from unbiased clustering approaches and the most recent scientific evidence on novel treatments to provide a guide in personalizing severe asthma treatment.