How a revolutionary new £70,000-a-year injection has saved Toni's life

Asthma sufferers with one of the most severe forms of the disease could benefit from a breakthrough drug after patients in a major clinical trial saw the number of attacks almost halved.

Nearly 2,000 people in 22 countries took part in tests on dupilumab, an injectable medicine developed by biopharmaceutical company Sanofi.

The results revealed that attacks plummeted by up to 48 per cent in those given regular jabs over the course of a year.

Toni Evans, 28, from Dorset, pictured, risked triggering an attack every time she laughed

Toni Evans, 28, from Dorset, pictured, risked triggering an attack every time she laughed

She used inhalers from the age of six and used to wheeze ‘like Darth Vader’ despite years of treatment that included injections, inhalers and a pump inserted into her stomach

She used inhalers from the age of six and used to wheeze ‘like Darth Vader’ despite years of treatment that included injections, inhalers and a pump inserted into her stomach

Now she travels from Swanage, Dorset to London once every three months for an injection

Now she travels from Swanage, Dorset to London once every three months for an injection 

The drug targets eosinophilic asthma, an especially dangerous form that affects more than 250,000 children and adults in the UK.

Most asthma cases are triggered by allergies to house dust mites, pollen or pets.

But eosinophilic asthma is caused by high levels of a particular white blood cell, called eosinophils, and so does not respond to the most commonly used medicines, such as inhaled steroids.

The new drug could offer a lifeline to thousands of patients struggling to control symptoms.

Among the British patients to take part in the trial carried out at the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth was dental nurse Toni Evans, 28, who is now able to laugh for the first time in years without fear of triggering an attack.

She is also able to eat properly and is no longer malnourished due to the severity of her illness.

Her eosinophilic asthma symptoms have nearly vanished and she said: ‘Since being on this drug I have got my life back. I have put on a stone and a half in weight and I’m finally able to exercise and do things like anyone else.

‘I can go to the gym or go swimming, go for walks along the beach and focus on my career.

‘But it’s the little things like laughing, which other people take for granted, that mean so

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