Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2026
DOI
10.1002/alr.70090
Publication Title
International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology
Volume
16
Issue
5
Pages
484-494
Abstract
Background
Loss of smell is a principal symptom of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), affecting health-related quality of life and posing a safety hazard.
Methods
WAYPOINT (NCT04851964), a phase 3, multicenter trial in adults with uncontrolled CRSwNP, randomized patients 1:1 to receive tezepelumab 210 mg or placebo subcutaneously every 4 weeks for 52 weeks. Changes from baseline in biweekly mean Nasal Polyposis Symptom Diary (NPSD) loss of smell item, University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), and 22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) loss of smell/taste item scores, as well as anosmia (UPSIT score ≤18) prevalence, were assessed over 52 weeks.
Results
Among 408 patients (tezepelumab [n = 203]; placebo [n = 205]), significant improvements with tezepelumab versus placebo in NPSD loss of smell item, UPSIT, and SNOT-22 loss of smell/taste item scores were seen at week 4 (least-squares mean [LSM] treatment difference [95% CI]: -0.36 [-0.46, -0.27]; 6.03 [4.72, 7.34]; and -1.01 [-1.22, -0.80], respectively) and week 52 (-1.01 [-1.18, -0.83]; 9.50 [7.84, 11.16]; and -1.90 [-2.20, -1.61]); all nominal p < 0.0001. Between-treatment differences in daily NPSD loss of smell item score were evident from day 7 (LSM treatment difference: -0.08 [95% CI: -0.15, -0.02]; nominal p < 0.01). Improvements in NPSD loss of smell, UPSIT, and SNOT-22 loss of smell/taste item scores were observed across multiple prespecified subgroups. Anosmia prevalence was lower with tezepelumab than placebo at week 4 (43.0% [n/N = 64/149] vs. 80.3% [n/N = 106/132]) and week 52 (31.5% [n/N = 47/149] vs. 75.8% [n/N = 100/132]).
Conclusions
Tezepelumab provides early and sustained improvements in sense of smell among patients with uncontrolled CRSwNP.
Rights
© 2026 The Authors.
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes
Original Publication Citation
Mullol, J., Han, J. K., Laidlaw, T. M., Hopkins, C., Peters, A. T., Pfaar, O., Desrosiers, M., Lee, S. E., Lane, A. P., Chen, C., Chon, Y., Ponnarambil, S. S., Foster, A., Lindsley, A. W., & Ambrose, C. S. (2026). Early and sustained improvements in sense of smell with tezepelumab treatment in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (WAYPOINT). International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology, 16(5), 484-494. https://doi.org/10.1002/alr.70090
Repository Citation
Mullol, J., Han, J. K., Laidlaw, T. M., Hopkins, C., Peters, A. T., Pfaar, O., Desrosiers, M., Lee, S. E., Lane, A. P., Chen, C., Chon, Y., Ponnarambil, S. S., Foster, A., Lindsley, A. W., & Ambrose, C. S. (2026). Early and sustained improvements in sense of smell with tezepelumab treatment in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (WAYPOINT). International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology, 16(5), 484-494. https://doi.org/10.1002/alr.70090
Supporting Information