WA leads the way as Australia’s only site in $10.08M global asthma study

A $10.08 million international partnership is driving a world-first asthma clinical trial that could change how the disease is treated globally, with Western Australia proudly selected as the only Australian site.

Funded by global biopharmaceutical company Sanofi, the study is a major international collaboration between research teams in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, including the University of Oxford. It’s being led by respirologist Simon Couillard from Université de Sherbrooke in Canada.

Here in WA the study is being delivered by the Institute for Respiratory Health, with Dr Sanjay Ramakrishnan, a leading respiratory physician and researcher, heading up the trial locally.

“This is a big deal for asthma research in Australia,” Dr Ramakrishnan said. “We’ve been trusted to lead this clinical trial here and it shows international confidence in our capability. This is a huge injection of research funding that aims to prevent asthma before it starts.”

The WA arm of the study is backed by a $2.5 million investment, bringing advanced respiratory research and clinical expertise to local patients.

This landmark study focuses on early intervention in people at risk of moderate asthma, using advanced biological therapies like dupilumab (Dupixent®) – an anti-inflammatory treatment already approved for other immune conditions.

The trial aims to:

• Predict who is most likely to develop high risk asthma in coming years
• Prevent asthma attacks before they set in
• Reduce the need for daily inhaler therapy
• Predict who can be effectively treated with an injection every two weeks instead of using a daily inhaler.

“We want to move away from daily puffers towards long-term control with fewer treatments,” Dr Ramakrishnan said. “The goal is to give people a better quality of life before high risk asthma becomes a serious problem.”

The study is set to start in early 2026 in Perth and will involve 50 participants, as part of 150 total across Canada, the UK and Australia.

Interested patients who may be eligible are encouraged to contact the clinical trial team at the Institute for Respiratory Health for more information and screening – clinicaltrials@resphealth.uwa.edu.au

-ends-

Media contact:
Andrea Jones
Institute for Respiratory Health
Mobile: 0450613460
Email: andrea.jones@resphealth.uwa.edu.au
resphealth.org.au