Introduction: COPD exacerbations (ECOPD) often occur in clusters, and 20% of patients (pts) hospitalized for an ECOPD are readmitted within 30 days. The prevention and delay of recurrent ECOPD is a crucial therapeutic goal. In this pooled post-hoc analysis of the benralizumab GALATHEA (NCT02138916) and TERRANOVA (NCT02155660) trials in COPD, we compared the probability of experiencing a moderate or severe recurrent ECOPD in pts with ?300 blood eosinophils/?L, on triple therapy, ?3 ECOPD in prior year and ?1 ECOPD after randomization following benralizumab 100 mg (B) or placebo (PBO). 

Methods: Time to a recurrent ECOPD following an initial event was summarized by Kaplan-Meier curve. Median time including 95% CIs to 50% probability of experiencing a recurrent ECOPD were estimated for pts on B and PBO. 

Results: 145 pts (73 B, 72 PBO) were included. Risk of a recurrent moderate or severe ECOPD was consistently lower for B than PBO throughout the study (Figure). The median (95% CI) time to recurrent ECOPD was 150 days (113-225) for B and 85 days (61-108) for PBO, i.e., 1.76 times longer for B than PBO. 

Conclusion: This analysis suggests that benralizumab 100 mg may reduce the risk of, or prolong time free from, a recurrent ECOPD in this subgroup and supports continued investigation of benralizumab in COPD in the ongoing phase 3 RESOLUTE (NCT04053634) study. 
 

Funding: This study was funded by AstraZeneca (Södertälje, Sweden).