“Monoclonal antibodies like the asthma drug omalizumab can block allergic reactions before they start, providing long term relief from allergies with a single injection. While not yet widely approved for this use, these therapies could have the potential to end allergy season,” reports The Doomslayer.
Vox adds:
A century ago, antihistamines were a revolution in allergy treatment. But now, we’re on the cusp of another.
Omalizumab, sold as Xolair, is an asthma medication that was approved more than 20 years ago, but it has proven successful in treating seasonal allergies in recent preliminary trials. So successful, in fact, that now some doctors in the US are prescribing it for certain patients during hay fever season. It is an injection, rather than a pill or a spray, that’s given a couple of weeks before pollen and grass levels start to rise.
One obvious benefit is you get a single shot and enjoy your spring. But even better, omalizumab can forestall allergic reactions at the source. That means an injection could stop all allergic reactions — not only seasonal allergies but food allergies (such as peanuts) and insect allergies for a prolonged period of time. This class of treatment — monoclonal antibodies, special artificial proteins that carry instructions to the body’s immune system — have the potential to be a genuine all-in-one allergy wonder drug….
Large clinical trials are underway in China and Japan, which could lead to omalizumab’s approval in those countries for seasonal allergies. The next generation of monoclonal antibody allergy treatments is already in the works….The treatment has demonstrated significantly better outcomes than antihistamines in small randomized trials, requiring only one dose two weeks before pollen and grass season.
Last July, the FDA approved donanemab, a monoclonal antibody that slows the progression of early Alzheimer’s disease.
It can take many years for the FDA to approve drugs, biologics, and medical advances. The FDA didn’t approve a home test for HIV until 24 years after it first received an application. According to an FDA advisory committee, the test held “the potential to prevent the transmission of more than 4,000 new HIV infections in its first year of use alone.” That means thousands of people likely got infected with AIDS as a result of the delay in approving it. At least a hundred thousand people died waiting years for the FDA to approve beta blockers.
