A hay fever vaccine that reduces sneezing, itchy eyes and a runny nose by training the immune system to tolerate pollen has been developed by British scientists.
Volunteers who received a jab a week for four weeks in a trial during the hay fever season reported a significant improvement in their symptoms, which they rated daily in electronic diaries.
The trial, conducted in Europe and North America last year, was the world’s largest for an allergy vaccine and paves the way for its developers, Allergy Therapeutics, to apply for European approval next year.
‘Allergy vaccines tend to be unfriendly to patients. A typical patient will need to have weekly shots for six months and then fortnightly or monthly shots for three years before they build up immunity to pollen,” said Keith Carter, chief executive of Allergy Therapeutics.
Neil Kao, an immunologist in South Carolina, said the ease of administering the vaccine was a crucial benefit. —