In the spotlight
Advancing early diagnosis and monitoring for chronic respiratory diseases
Advancing sustainable respiratory care with our next-generation propellant
Respiratory & Immunology
Our ambition is to transform Respiratory & Immunology care for patients, moving beyond symptom control to disease modification, remission and, one day, cure.
Home / Our therapy areas / Respiratory & Immunology
Our commitment
With five decades of experience, we are an established leader in respiratory care and a disruptor in immunology. We are committed to transforming care for some of the most debilitating and chronic respiratory and immune-mediated diseases. Our portfolio of inhaled and biologic medicines, and our pipeline for the future, seek to address the challenges and vast unmet medical needs patients face today. By following the science, we are focused on sustainably addressing tough and complex unsolved problems. Our approach involves targeting the underlying biology, developing effective new drug modalities and combinations and applying a precision medicine approach from the start of discovering medicines, all while driving earlier detection, diagnosis and intervention.
Transforming the lives of patients with respiratory and immune-mediated diseases
Hear how we are addressing tough challenges to make a difference for patients – including advancing the science beyond just symptom control, uncovering true drivers of disease, using new modalities, and reimagining our work with partners.
Our focus areas
We are focused on chronic respiratory diseases including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as immune-driven diseases such as lupus. We follow the science to address tough and complex, unsolved problems - targeting the underlying biology and developing effective new drug modalities and combinations with the ultimate ambition of achieving disease modification and clinical remission.
Click on the links below to learn more about our focus areas:
Our people
We are an established leader in Respiratory medicine and a disruptor in Immunology and we invest in and value our people. We are positioned to follow the science in our research, while also solving issues in treatment and management of respiratory and immune-mediated diseases. Our culture is rooted in integrity, inclusiveness, and our dedication to joining and supporting the communities in which we live and work.
The Respiratory & Immunology team is led by:
Join our team
Our Respiratory & Immunology therapy area is driven by innovation and our commitment to make a real-life difference in patient’s lives. That difference starts with you. IDEA Pharma ranked us #1 on their Invention Index and #2 on their Innovation Index and we are recognised as a top employer in 2021/2022 by Forbes, Financial Times and Biospace. We need people like you who share our passion for science and determination to meet patients’ needs around the world.
Visit our careers website and:
Collaboration
Through collaboration and partnerships, we can accelerate positive change and outcomes for patients. We work with leading research and academic institutions, public health authorities, patient groups and professional organisations across respiratory and immune-mediated diseases.
International Respiratory Coalition
As part of our commitment to transform respiratory care for all patients, we are a founding partner of the International Respiratory Coalition. The Coalition aims to support the transformation of post-pandemic respiratory healthcare and reduce deaths from respiratory disease by one-third globally by 2030. This goal, which aligns with the fast-approaching deadline set for the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals1, will be delivered through the creation or update of national respiratory strategies which accelerate and scale adoption of good practice care models.
Speak Up for COPD
The world can no longer afford to overlook COPD.2 That is why we are working with leading respiratory groups and patient allies from around the world to make this disease a public health priority. This cross-industry and multi partnered campaign has one critical goal: to increase the awareness and understanding of COPD among policymakers and healthcare systems. Together we are aiming to unlock policy change barriers that can optimise COPD care.
Break Over-Reliance
Our mission is to eliminate asthma attacks and enable people with asthma to live life to the fullest. Through increasing awareness and motivating systems and clinical practice to implement evidence-based guidelines for optimal asthma care, the Break Over-Reliance campaign seeks to break the cycle of over-reliance on SABA inhalers for asthma treatment.
Sustainable respiratory care
We recognise the interconnection between healthy people and a healthy planet. Within Respiratory & Immunology, we are leading the way in reducing the environmental burden of respiratory care by driving improvements in patient outcomes as well as transitioning our pressurised metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs) to use a next generation propellant with reduced climate impact. As part of our Ambition Zero Carbon strategy, we are on track to transition our portfolio of pMDIs to an innovative, next-generation propellant with near-zero Global Warming Potential by 2030.
Find out more about our work:
Our medicines
We cannot provide detailed information about our prescription medicines on this website, in compliance with regulations.Our medicines are approved in individual countries for specific uses and the information we provide for patients is governed by local regulations. In some cases, healthcare professionals and patients can visit local AstraZeneca websites to find out more about our medicines. Please note that in some countries we are not allowed to provide very much, or sometimes any, information on our prescription medicines so you should seek alternative trustworthy sources. Always ask a healthcare professional for advice about medicines.
Accolate, Accoleit, Vanticon
zafirlukast
Airsupra
albuterol/budesonide
Bevespi Aerosphere
glycopyrronium/formoterol fumarate
Breztri Aerosphere
budesonide/glycopyrronium/formoterol fumarate
Bricanyl Respules
terbutaline
Bricanyl Turbuhaler
terbutaline in a dry powder inhaler
Daliresp/Daxas
roflumilast
Duaklir Genuair
aclidinium/formoterol
Eklira Genuair/Tudorza/Bretaris
aclidinium, a LAMA
Fasenra
benralizumab
Oxis Turbuhaler
Oxis Turbuhaler
Pulmicort Respules
budesonide inhalation suspension
Pulmicort Turbuhaler
budesonide
Rhinocort
budesonide
Saphnelo
anifrolumab
Symbicort pMDI
budesonide/formoterol
Symbicort Turbuhaler
budesonide/formoterol
Tezspire
tezepelumab
Our pipeline for R&I
Our pipeline forms a robust portfolio of investigational therapies in varied stages of clinical development.
Phase III/Reg. refers to assets that are in Phase III or that have been submitted for regulatory approval and may include assets that are now launched in one or more major markets.
Respiratory & Immunology (as of 6 February 2025)
Phase I
Phase I
Phase II
Phase II
Phase III
Phase III
LCM Projects
LCM Projects
Latest news
References
1. United Nations. Sustainable Development Goals. Available at: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/. [Last accessed: August 2022].
2. World Health Organization. COPD Factsheet. Available at: http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/chronic-obstructive-pulmonary-disease-(copd). [Last accessed: August 2022].
Veeva ID: Z4-72899
Date of preparation: March 2025