AstraZeneca India has announced plans to launch five Centres of Excellences (CoEs) across New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Goa and Cochin to provide a systematic approach to standardised and uniform management of patients with severe asthma.

The centres will serve as the exemplar hub for treatment and management of severe asthma patients, and they will, in turn guide and support evolving severe asthma centres for a systematic and guidelines-based approach to identify and treat severe asthma patients.

The Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for severe asthma, as per the guidelines established by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), would concentrate on specialty and clinical assessment, diagnosis, patient counselling, biologics initiation, and data management related to severe asthma. The management of severe asthma requires continued research, education, and support to patients. Appropriate patient selection is critical for the application of biologics or advanced precision therapy for severe asthma.

Under AstraZeneca’s model of Severe Asthma CoEs, disease management is centred on four crucial pillars. The first involves utilising a standardised proforma to identify the appropriate patient profile for severe asthma. The second pillar involves bridging gaps in patient awareness by providing education on severe asthma through interactive patient modules, websites, and booklets. The third pillar focuses on providing a specialised curriculum for aspiring respiratory specialists to assist them in identifying the appropriate patients and guiding them towards the most suitable therapy options. Finally, develop an academy for asthma counsellors to help them evaluate patient care techniques, adherence, and asthma control.