Treatment of Allergies
Upon re-exposure to the allergen management of the allergic symptoms of all types of allergic diseases has three key options:
- allergen avoidance
- pharmacotherapy drugs to treat allergy symptoms
- allergen specific immunotherapy
While allergen avoidance is the most effective way to prevent an allergic reaction, this is often difficult to achieve without greatly impairing quality and convenience of life of the allergic individual. The majority of patients therefore manage symptoms using pharmaceutical interventions such as corticosteroids, antihistamines, bronchodilators and decongestants.
However, in order to cure an allergic disease the only current option is to use allergen specific immunotherapy. Immunotherapy involves the subcutaneous injection of gradually increasing doses of the allergen extract to which the person is allergic. The incremental increase of the allergen dose results in a decreasing sensitivity of the immune system to the substance. This is accomplished by modulating the allergen-specific immune response, shifting the balance of T-lymphocyte subsets from a Th2 towards a Th1 phenotype with preferential IFN-gamma and decreased IL-4 and IL-5 production. Also, production of IL-10 by allergen-specific regulatory T cells is observed, and serum levels and affinity of allergen-specific IgG antibodies, especially IgG4, increase.
The induction of "blocking" IgG antibodies, which bind to the allergen upon re-exposure prevents the allergen-specific IgE antibodies of the allergic patient to bind to the allergen and thereby reduces or prevents the allergic symptoms. However, with 50 to 80 injections over a prolonged period of time and the constant risk of severe allergic reactions to the injections, immunotherapy is currently only recommended in patients if other treatments fail, in severe cases of allergy or to patients who have life-threatening reactions to insect stings. Although many patients do not complete the arduous treatment regimen, in those that do the success rates at curing the allergy are high.
ImVisioN’s approach is to improve the effectiveness, safety and compliance of allergy immunotherapy to make it a cost effective option open to all patients with debilitating allergies. Using intralymphatic delivery and a proprietary format for the immunotherapy, ImVisioN’s treatments have the potential to deliver cures to allergies after only three injections and with a greatly lowered incidence of adverse reactions.