The expand Podcast:
Season 8: COPD Biologics
The way we treat COPD is changing. Season 8 of The eXpand Podcast brings together leading researchers and clinicians to explore what biologic therapies and precision medicine mean for patients and the physicians who care for them.
Hosted by Dr. Jean Bourbeau, each episode offers evidence-based insights to help you navigate this evolving therapeutic landscape with confidence, whether you work in a specialist clinic or a community setting.
Available in your favorite platform:
Inside Season 8
For decades, COPD was managed primarily through symptom control. A new generation of biologic therapies is shifting that paradigm, making it possible to target the underlying inflammatory mechanisms that drive exacerbations and disease progression.
Across these two episodes, Dr. Bourbeau speaks with experts Dr. MeiLan Han and Dr. Stephanie Christenson to unpack the science behind this shift, from understanding airway biology and eosinophil biomarkers to interpreting clinical trial results and applying them in real-world practice. The conversations address both the promise of precision medicine and the honest challenges of implementation, including patient selection, biomarker variability, inhaler adherence, and setting realistic expectations.
This season is particularly relevant for respirologists, internists, and community physicians who are seeing patients with frequent COPD exacerbations and want to understand whether biologics are the right next step.
Episode 1 | COPD Enters the Biologic Era: Are Your Patients Ready? (with Dr. MeiLan Han)
For decades, COPD was treated as a single, uniform disease. That’s changing. A new generation of targeted therapies is making it possible to match treatment to patient biology, and the results from recent clinical trials are giving clinicians reason for optimism.
In this episode, Dr. MeiLan Han explores what biologics actually do in the context of COPD, how blood eosinophil levels guide patient selection, and what the BOREAS and NOTUS trials tell us about real-world outcomes. She also addresses the practical challenges of integrating biologics into clinical practice, from interpreting biomarker variability to setting honest expectations with patients.
You’ll learn about:
- How biologic therapies differ from traditional COPD treatments and why they represent a meaningful shift in disease management
- Why blood eosinophil counts matter as a biomarker, and how to interpret their variability in practice
- What the BOREAS and NOTUS clinical trials found, including outcomes related to exacerbation reduction, lung function, and symptom improvement
- How to identify COPD patients who are most likely to benefit from a biologic approach
Episode 2 – Revolutionizing COPD Treatment: The Practical Approach to Biologics (with Dr. Stephanie Christenson)
COPD has long been managed as a condition to be controlled rather than meaningfully altered. That view is shifting. As research into airway biology has advanced, it has become clear that COPD is a heterogeneous disease, and that targeting the right inflammatory pathway in the right patient can produce outcomes that were not previously possible.
You’ll learn about:
- Why understanding airway biology is foundational to selecting the right COPD treatment
- How aging, smoking history, and environmental exposures contribute to inflammation heterogeneity in COPD
- How to use blood eosinophil counts as a practical biomarker for identifying biologic candidates
- What the clinical trial evidence shows about the efficacy and safety of emerging biologics in COP
RESPIPLUS™ received sponsorship support from Sanofi and Regeneron for this podcast series.
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About The eXpand Podcast
The eXpand Podcast was created by Respiplus, a non-profit organization.
We develop educational programs to help those with chronic lung conditions to better understand and manage their disease.
Our programs are evidence-based and have been demonstrated to improve people’s lives in multiple clinical trials, resulting in better quality of life, reduced hospital admissions and emergency room visits.
Other Seasons of the eXpand Podcast
Unlock science-backed insights and practical knowledge from our previous seasons, each offering a unique perspective into crucial aspects of healthcare:
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