World Asthma Day: new roadmap provides route towards a cure for asthma

A new roadmap has been published identifying key priority areas that need to be addressed to tackle the burden of asthma.

According to the document, a unified approach to research is urgently needed to address the challenge of asthma in Europe and improve mortality and morbidity.  

The report is an outcome of the European Asthma Research and Innovation Partnership (EARIP), which ELF is a part of. It is published today in the European Respiratory Journal, to coincide with World Asthma Day.

EARIP carried out extensive literature reviews and a pan-European consultation to develop the recommendations, which are intended to inform researchers of the most effective ways to address the impact of asthma on the individual, healthcare systems, and national and European economies.

The report identifies 15 research priorities based on the overarching themes of:

• primary care and public health
• triggers and risk factors for asthma and exacerbations
• personalised medicine
• self-management and adherence

The editorial is published alongside a review paper from the EARIP consortium, looking at the unmet needs in understanding asthma mechanisms. In addition, there are a number of new ERJ articles published on the topic of asthma to mark World Asthma Day.