Respiratory Diseases: Drugs

(asked on 22nd June 2026) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government how many people with (1) severe asthma, and (2) chronic pulmonary obstructive disease, are currently prescribed biologic medicines in England, with figures for each integrated care board and NHS region.


Answered by
Baroness Merron Portrait
Baroness Merron
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 24th August 2026

There is currently a total of 21,654 people with severe asthma receiving a biologic for severe asthma in England. The number of people receiving a biologic is based on the number of requests received in the last 12 months, from June 2025 to May 2026, for either new initiation or continuation of asthma biologic treatment. The following table shows a breakdown of the asthma figures by integrated care board (ICB):

Region

Integrated care board

Patient count

East of England

NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB

236

NHS Cambridgeshire and Peterborough ICB

305

NHS Hertfordshire and West Essex ICB

412

NHS Mid and South Essex ICB

285

NHS Norfolk and Waveney ICB

301

NHS Suffolk and North East Essex ICB

235

London

NHS North Central London ICB

345

NHS North East London ICB

453

NHS North West London ICB

512

NHS South East London ICB

750

NHS South West London ICB

467

Midlands

NHS Birmingham and Solihull ICB

593

NHS Black Country ICB

488

NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICB

215

NHS Derby and Derbyshire ICB

620

NHS Herefordshire and Worcestershire ICB

247

NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland ICB

475

NHS Lincolnshire ICB

233

NHS Northamptonshire ICB

256

NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire ICB

519

NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICB

127

NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-On-Trent ICB

551

North East and Yorkshire

NHS Humber and North Yorkshire ICB

360

NHS North East and North Cumbria ICB

1,351

NHS South Yorkshire ICB

543

NHS West Yorkshire ICB

719

North West

NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB

1,434

NHS Greater Manchester ICB

1,225

NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB

670

South East

NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West ICB

969

NHS Frimley ICB

172

NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB

1,271

NHS Kent and Medway ICB

410

NHS Surrey Heartlands ICB

323

NHS Sussex ICB

545

South West

NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB

366

NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB

532

NHS Cornwall and The Isles of Scilly ICB

292

NHS Devon ICB

707

NHS Dorset ICB

381

NHS Gloucestershire ICB

356

NHS Somerset ICB

403


In addition, the following table shows a breakdown of the asthma figures by region:

Region

Patient count

East of England

1,774

London

2,527

Midlands

4,324

North East and Yorkshire

2,973

North West

3,329

South East

3,690

South West

3,037


Data relating to chronic pulmonary obstructive disease is (COPD) not held. However, through the £10 million Respiratory Transformation Partnership, launched in March, the Government is working with NHS England, the Health Innovation Network, industry, and third sector partners to improve care across asthma and COPD pathways. This includes earlier diagnosis, better long-term management, and pathway redesign to support more consistent uptake of biologic medicines.

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