Even without specific Phase 3 data yet revealed, analysts see AstraZeneca and Amgen’s Tezspire as a potential threat for Dupixent in eosinophilic esophagitis.
With a late-stage esophagitis win on Thursday, AstraZeneca and Amgen’s Tezspire is set up for further growth in the immunology arena—and, analysts believe, could even challenge one of the space’s biggest and most entrenched franchises.
Dupixent is the only approved biologic in eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE), William Blair analysts wrote in a Thursday note to investors. And while much remains unknown about the competitive profile of the up-and-comer, Tezspire could emerge as a formidable challenger to the blockbuster drug.
Co-owned by Sanofi and Regeneron, Dupixent was first approved in March 2017 for eczema. The IL-4 and IL-13 blocker entered the EoE arena in May 2022, buoyed by pivotal data showing that about 60% of treated patients achieved histologic remission, as compared with up to 6% of placebo comparators.
Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), a common symptom of EoE, improved by 21.9 to 23.8 points in those on Dupixent, as measured by a validated questionnaire, versus 9.6 to 13.9 points on placebo.
This is the bar that Tezspire must clear in order to step up to Dupixent, Truist Securities said Thursday—noting, however, that Tezspire already has clear “differentiation on dosing.” AstraZeneca and Amgen’s drug requires an injection every four weeks, while Dupixent is administered via injection weekly. “Tezspire’s potential competitiveness in EoE is a nice incremental win,” the firm said.
Whether Tezspire can indeed pose a threat to Dupixent remains to be seen. In the Phase 3 readout on Thursday, AstraZeneca and Amgen said that their drug significantly improved histologic remission and dysphagia symptoms at 24 weeks, sustained through 52 weeks. But the partners didn’t provide specific data to back up their claims, meaning the magnitude of Tezspire’s benefits remain unknown at this time.
AstraZeneca and Amgen will present full data from the late-stage study, dubbed CROSSING, at an upcoming scientific conference. There has been no head-to-head study directly comparing Tezspire against Dupixent for EoE.
But even lacking details, Truist called CROSSING “a clean win” for Amgen and AstraZeneca, providing “a genuine addition to the Tezspire franchise, and demonstrative of additional opportunities for growth worth watching across a maturing commercial portfolio.”
Tezspire is already a high-growth franchise for the pharma partners. The drug brought in $1.48 billion in revenue for Amgen in 2025, a 51% year-on-year increase. AstraZeneca, meanwhile, logged $1.13 billion in ex-U.S. sales for Tezspire last year, surging 64%. William Blair on Thursday forecast worldwide sales for the drug to hit around $2.7 billion this year and $3.3 billion in 2027.
Meanwhile, Dupixent grew 26% last year to hit $17.8 billion globally, as reported by Regeneron.
