LONDON, Nov 27 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca's ( AZN )

Fasenra, an injectable treatment for severe asthma, is more

effective during attacks than the oral steroid that has been the

standard of care for 50 years, cutting the need for further

treatment by 30%, according to a study published on Wednesday.

The antibody drug known chemically as benralizumab was

approved by U.S. and EU regulators in 2017 as a treatment for a

severe form of the breathing disorder called eosinophilic asthma

that targets a type of white blood cell associated with lung

inflammation.

The new study, led by King's College London researchers,

involved 158 patients in Britain who were at high risk of an

asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) attack.

The researchers found that Fasenra can be more effective

than the oral corticosteroid prednisolone when injected during

an attack, also called an exacerbation, which can involve

symptoms such as wheezing, coughing and chest tightness.

Steroids such as prednisolone can reduce inflammation in the

lungs but also may cause severe side effects.

The exacerbations account for 30% of COPD flare-ups and

nearly half of all asthma attacks, and can become more frequent

as the disease progresses.

Many patients who suffer these attacks need repeated courses

of steroids, re-hospitalisation or die within 90 days, the

researchers said.

In the study, after 28 days of treatment respiratory

symptoms were found to be better with benralizumab. After 90

days, there were four times fewer people in the AstraZeneca ( AZN ) drug

group that failed treatment compared to standard of care with

prednisolone.

The findings show that the AstraZeneca ( AZN ) drug can also be used

during the emergency of a life-threatening attack, at a hospital

or potentially even at home, to reduce the need for further

treatment and hospitalisations, researchers said.

"This could be a game-changer for people with asthma and

COPD," Professor Mona Bafadhel from King's College London, who

led the trial, said in a statement.

Asthma and COPD exacerbations cause nearly four million

deaths worldwide each year, but treatment for the chronic

conditions has not changed in five decades, she noted.

Fasenra is AstraZeneca's ( AZN ) second-best selling drug from its

respiratory and immunology portfolio. It brought in $436 million

in sales in the third quarter, up 13% from a year earlier.

The study was sponsored by the University of Oxford and the

research received funding from the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker. The

findings were published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine

journal.