Getting into our body a substance can cause a reaction of the immune system. In case such a reaction is excessive, it can cause reactions starting from urticaria, rhinoconjunctivitis, pruritus, asthma attacks, digestive system disorders, cardiovascular system disorders up to anaphylaxis and Quincke's edema.
Despite the fact that the number of people suffering from allergies has been growing at a progressive rate in recent decades, the mechanisms and reasons for the growing number of immune responses have not yet been fully explained and it is under investigation within numerous research.
According to the World Health Organization around 40-50% of pupils worldwide suffer from at least one widespread allergen intolerance. The allergic reactions include: hay fever, atopic asthma, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, eczema, etc. According to the Russian Institute of Immunology (FMBA) up to 50% of children in big cities suffer from allergic diseases: by 3-6 years respiratory allergy diseases are progressing (atopic asthma and allergic rhinitis) so that by the age of 17 years up to 40-50% of youth in big cities suffer from respiratory allergies. In the XXI century scientists predict that the allergy will become one of the most widespread diseases.
It is not yet possible to overcome allergy as there is no universal mechanism of the disease progression hence no single way for patients to be treated. For each patient, an allergic reaction can occur via different pathogenesis of the allergic response. If the path of an allergy progression is inhibited and the methods to influence its etiology are found, it is possible to control the disease so that it does not cause any inconvenience.
The scientific community and pharmaceutical companies are actively developing such methods. One of the foremost was and remains the allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) as it is one of the most convenient and affordable method of treatment based on pathogenesis that influences the etiology of the disease [1]. The methods of AIT include subcutaneous administration of drugs (vaccines) and non-injectable methods (drops, tablets). In addition, other modern drugs have been recently developed and are used in various types of therapies (for example, leukotriene receptor antagonists or drugs based on monoclonal antibodies) as well as existing drugs have been improved (for example, antihistamines and hormones).
It is important to understand that there is no universal method for the treatment of allergies and it is always necessary to visit a doctor who can suggest the appropriate therapy after a detailed examination.
The development of new drugs allows bringing innovative drugs to the market for more effective treatment of various disease etiologies as well as reducing costs of therapy or increasing the effectiveness existing drugs’ analogues.
«BioEq» team has expereince in allergy trials. For example, «BioEq» participated in a study in patients with atopic eosinophilic asthma (top-enroller). Totally 400 patients were required to be randomized. About 10-15% came from “«BioEq»”, the rest came from the other 36 approved centers. Patients successfully completed their participation in the clinical trial and soon the results can be expected.
In the coming weeks we also plan to start enrollment of patients with allergic bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis or rhinoconjunctivitis in a study applying a progressive treatment methodology: specific immunotherapy (AIT) with allergoid prepared house dust mite.
Our team is interested in conducting other trials in this therapeutic area. We invite patients to participate in clinical sites at our site.
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[1] Slavyanskaya T.A., Derkach V.V. "Allergen-specific immunotherapy at the present stage" // Allergology and Immunology, Vol. 4, No. 16, 2015, p. 329.