Discussion on whether dupilumab/dalbitux is a targeted drug

Dupilumab(dupilumab) is an immunomodulatory drug that has been widely used in recent years and has been approved for the treatment of a variety of immune-mediated diseases, such asatopic dermatitis, asthma, allergic rhinitis, etc. It is considered a biological agent that plays an important role in the immune system, but the question of whether it is a "targeted drug" is still worthy of further discussion.

From a drug mechanism perspective, dupilumab works by inhibitingIL-4 and IL-13, two cytokines that play an important role in the development of a variety of immune diseases. These cytokines signal through specific receptors, thereby promoting inflammatory and immune responses, especially in allergic diseases and immune disorders. By inhibiting the receptors of IL-4Rα and IL-13Rα, dupilumab precisely blocks the IL-4 and IL-13 signaling pathways and reduces abnormal activation of the immune system. Therefore, dupilumab can be regarded as a targeted drug because it precisely interferes with specific immune pathways.

However, dupilumab is different from traditional targeted drugs, which usually achieve therapeutic effects by acting directly on specific molecular targets (such as receptors or enzymes). Dupilumab mainly modulates the immune response by interfering with signaling between immune cells, thereby alleviating symptoms. Although this mechanism is relatively indirect, it still has the characteristics of targeted therapy because it clearly targets IL-4 and IL-13, two key immune-mediating cytokines.

To sum up, dupilumab can be regarded as a targeted drug that precisely regulates specific signaling pathways of immune responses and has high efficacy and relatively few side effects in the treatment of specific immune diseases. Therefore, although it is different from some targeted drugs that directly act on molecular targets, dupilumab still meets the basic characteristics of targeted therapy.

Reference materials:https://www.dupixent.com/