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100 Years after its Discovery, Allergen Immunotherapy enters a new Era

 

Paris, 4th of January 2011 – When the British physicians Leonard Noon and John Freeman published their groundbreaking research in 1911, the term ‘allergy’ was quite new and the etiology of grass pollen allergy was still relatively unclear. Their discovery of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) preceded its validation. Hence, it raised a number of crucial questions which had to be answered if their promising approach to treating allergies were to succeed. A century later, through cutting-edge research and clinical evidence gained from large-scale controlled trials, these questions are being resolved.
The questions raised by Noon and Freeman in 1911 included the ’right' way to administer the treatment, the dosage and intervals required between applications; the ‘degree' of immunity that could be achieved in grass pollen allergic patients; and whether the disease can be treated permanently.

Generations of allergy researchers have been trying to resolve these issues ever since and to fine-tune allergen immunotherapy, leading to further experimentation and some empirical success. This brought about the broader application of so-called ’specific' immunotherapy, in injection form initially and, much later, more patient-friendly and convenient administration routes: sublingual drops and – the latest advance –  tablets. Research continued, and today the evidence and new guidelines issued by international scientific and regulatory bodies have led to a high level of recognition for immunotherapy tablets as an evidence-based- medicine product and convenient form of therapy with potent, long-lasting effects and well documented efficacy and safety.

100 years after the foundations of allergen immunotherapy were first laid, this latest innovation has created a new therapeutic class and an important treatment option, particularly for patients with severe allergic rhinitis inadequately controlled by symptomatic treatments.

 

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