Risankizumab, a monoclonal antibody directed towards interleukin (IL) target, not only failed to show a benefit, but patients receiving it fared worse than a placebo group in a randomised phase II trials involving asthma.

The negative results of this biological drug, currently approved for psoriasis, was surprising as it had given positive results in trials involving other inflammatory conditions, including psoriasis and IBD, according to researchers at University of Leicester in England. The trial result published in the New England Journal of Medicine, therefore contradicts the current understanding of the role that Th17- and interleukin-23-mediated pathways play in the pathogenesis of asthma.