Phase IIB Clinical Trials for Sublingual-Oral Immunotherapy for Short Ragweed Allergy

Filed in archive Hay Fever on July 24, 2006

If everything goes well, we might have a sublingual-oral immunotherapy available to fight short ragweed allergies soon. Of course, soon can be anything from several months to a few years, but at least firms are inching their way there. Greer Laboratories will launch a multi-center Phase II clinical trial to establish the safety and efficacy of a preparation of short ragweed extract to treat allergies to ragweed pollen.

"We chose to study short ragweed because it is one of the most prevalent forms of pollen allergy in the United States," says Dr. Bob Esch, Vice President of Research and Development for Greer. "The majority of Americans with seasonal allergic rhinitis are sensitized to short ragweed pollen, so this patient population will be representative of pollen-allergic patients commonly seen in allergy offices.

According to this report, patient recruitment for the trials have already begun at four allergy clinics in the US. See YahooNews to read the full story.

[Photo: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology]