AstraZeneca plc (LON:AZN) fixed-dose triple-combination Trixeo Aerosphere (budesonide/glycopyrronium/formoterol fumarate dihydrate or BGF (320/28.8/10μg)) has been approved in the European Union (EU) as a maintenance treatment for asthma in patients 12 years of age and older who are not adequately controlled by a combination of a medium dose inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and long-acting beta2-agonist (LABA). Trixeo Aerosphere, marketed as Breztri Aerosphere in the US, China and Japan, is a single inhaler that combines the efficacy of ICS/LABA with a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA).
The approval by the European Commission (EC) follows the positive opinion of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and was based on the positive results from the KALOS and LOGOS Phase III trials. In the trials, Trixeo demonstrated statistically significant improvements in lung function compared with combined ICS/LABA comparators.1 In the pooled analysis of KALOS and LOGOS, Trixeo demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in the annualised rate of severe asthma exacerbations versus combined ICS/LABA comparators in a broad population of patients including those with no asthma exacerbations in the previous year.1
Alberto Papi, Professor and Chair of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Ferrara, and Director of the Respiratory Unit, CardioRespiratory Department, S. Anna University Hospital, Ferrara, Italy, and primary investigator, said: “Every day, I see patients whose asthma remains uncontrolled despite maintenance treatment, leaving them with persistent symptoms like difficulty breathing and declining lung function and at risk of exacerbations, which can have serious health consequences. The approval of Trixeo in Europe as the first triple-combination therapy in a single inhaler for patients 12 years of age and older provides an important new treatment option that has been shown to improve asthma control and reduce future risk of exacerbations, regardless of exacerbation history.”
Ruud Dobber, Executive Vice President and President, BioPharmaceuticals Business Unit, AstraZeneca, said: “Today’s approval in asthma builds on Trixeo’s established role in improving outcomes in patients with COPD. This means we can now bring the benefits of a single-inhaler triple-combination therapy to people aged 12 years and older in Europe whose asthma remains uncontrolled on dual inhaled therapy.”
In a key secondary endpoint, Trixeo demonstrated a rapid onset of action with a significant improvement from baseline in lung function within five minutes after the first dose.1 Trixeo is a maintenance therapy and is not used to relieve sudden breathing problems and will not replace a rescue inhaler. Results from KALOS and LOGOS were published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine in February 2026.1 There were no new safety or tolerability signals identified for Trixeo in the trials.1
In Europe, there are nearly 43 million people living with asthma, and every year, about four million more people are newly diagnosed.2 When uncontrolled on dual therapies, patients can often struggle with symptoms such as wheezing, breathlessness, coughing, exacerbations and even death.3-5
Trixeo/Breztri, is also approved in the US and Japan for treatment of asthma and is currently under review in China, as well as other countries. Trixeo/Breztri is also approved for the treatment of COPD in adults in 90 countries worldwide including the US, EU, China and Japan.
References
- Papi A, Wise R, Jackson D et al. Budesonide-glycopyrronium-formoterol fumarate dihydrate in uncontrolled asthma (KALOS and LOGOS): twin multicentre, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-group, randomised, phase 3 trials. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. 2026;14:350-362.
- International Respiratory Coalition. Asthma. [Online]. Available at: https://international-respiratory-coalition.org/diseases/asthma/. [Last accessed: September 2026].
- Fernandes AG, et al. Risk factors for death in patients with severe asthma. J Bras Pneumol. 2014;40(4):364-372.
- Davis J, et al. Burden of asthma among patients adherent to ICS/LABA: A real-world study. J Asthma. 2019 Mar;56(3):332-340.
- Buhl R, et al. One-year follow up of asthmatic patients newly initiated on treatment with medium- or high-dose inhaled corticosteroid-long-acting β2-agonist in UK primary care settings. Respir Med. 2020 Feb;162:105859.
