IL-5 is the signal that tells eosinophils — a type of white blood cell — to grow and survive. In severe eosinophilic asthma those cells flood the airways and drive attacks. Blocking IL-5, or the receptor it binds to, strips the eosinophils out and can roughly halve the rate of asthma exacerbations in people whose disease is not controlled by inhalers alone.
Class descriptions are written by the Priya Life Science editorial team. Individual drug pages combine that summary with live label, approval, manufacturer and shortage data from the U.S. FDA via the openFDA API. This page is general information and is not medical advice — it is not exhaustive, drugs within a class are not automatically interchangeable, and approvals and brand names differ between the US, EU/Ireland (EMA/HPRA) and other regions. Always consult the official prescribing information and your clinician or pharmacist. Related: Drug Shortages Tracker · FDA Approvals · All drug comparisons