Asthma is a heterogeneous disease that encompasses a wide range of clinical presentations and underlying disease processes.Airway inflammation (both T2HIGH and T2LOW), airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and airways remodelling as four key factors in asthma pathogenesis, and also outline other contributory factors such as genetics and co-morbidities. Asthma affects almost 20 million people in the United States and more than 300 million people worldwide. Of these, 10-15% have severe asthma, which is refractory to commonly available drugs.Several new classes of asthma drugs—including ultra long acting β agonists and modulators of the interleukin 4 (IL-4), IL-5, IL-13, and IL-17 pathways—have been evaluated in randomized controlled trials. Other new drug classes—including dissociated corticosteroids, CXC chemokine receptor 2 antagonists, toll-like receptor 9 agonists, and tyrosine kinase inhibitors—remain in earlier phases of development.Future research on the clinical efficacy of these biologic agents, the effect of newer agents on severe asthma in pediatric patients, and the biology of non-eosinophilic and corticosteroid resistant asthma is needed to reduce the morbidity of asthma worldwide.

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