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 what steps they are taking to increase access to biologic medicines for people with asthma and chronic pulmonary obstructive disease.
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.