Immunotherapy is getting a leg up in the United States, with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) now approving the first pill, Oralair, to treat sufferers of grass pollen allergies - an alternative to injections, which are currently the only pre-allergy season treatment for hayfever.
The drug, made by French pharmaceutical company Stallergenes, is a once-daily treatment, with the first dose required to be supervised by a doctor to ensure that the patient doesn't experience any adverse or unexpected reactions. The FDA noted that patients who participated in the Oralair trial "experienced a 16 to 30 percent reduction in symptoms and the need for medications compared to those who received a placebo." It's thought that the at-home treatment will prove more convenient than injections, which require visits to a primary care provider. The pill will provide a less painful option for patients who prefer not to receive injections.
As with injections that regulate hayfever, the Oralair treatment course needs to start four months before allergy season starts - meaning, unfortunately, that the approval comes a little too late for the 2014 season. However, allergy sufferers can look forward to next year, as sublingual immunotherapy becomes accessible in the U.S. for the first time.
Sublingual immunotherapy involves introducing minuscule amounts of the stimulus that triggers allergic reactions to the sufferer's body, thus reducing sensitivity and easing symptoms when the sufferer is presented with the symptom outside a controlled environment. Oralair treats allergies sparked by orchard, timothy, to sweet vernal, perennial rye, and Kentucky blue grass.
Dr. Mark Moss, director of the allergy and clinical immunology fellowship program at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison, explained sublingual immunotherapy in an interview with Medscape Medical News. "Sublingual immunotherapy is a novel form of immunotherapy that provides evidence-based treatment of allergy to grass pollen and is administered at home," he said. "This is completely different than current available forms of immunotherapy that are given as injections at allergy clinics. "
Some side effects were experienced, including swelling of the mouth, throat irritation, and an itching sensation in the mouth, ear, and tongue. Oralair will be sold with a boxed warning to advise patients of the potential risks.
