Vaccine paves the way for new treatments for allergies

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 50% of the world's population will have allergies by 2050, compared to 25% to 30% today. Currently, the only allergy-modifying treatment is desensitization, but it often takes months or even years to have a real impact. However, although desensitization was discovered in 1911, it has not significantly reduced the epidemiology of allergies until now, said Dr. Guy Tropper, an otolaryngologist (ENT) who has practiced allergy emergency medicine for over 10 years. But now the situation could change, thanks to a new treatment developed by the Franco-Quebec company Angany: a vaccine against cat allergies. This type of allergy affects about 12% of the population, said Dr. Tropper, who is also co-founder and executive vice-president of Angany. In addition to causing health problems like asthma, it also affects personal lives. “In my office, allergy patients often ask me what they can do, because they want to avoid getting rid of their cats at all costs.” How the new treatment works The active immunotherapeutic ingredient ANG-101 in the vaccine is a bioparticle that mimics the shape and size of a virus. Its surface is covered with approximately 3,000 copies of the allergen Fel d 1, the protein responsible most cat allergies. “The bioparticle looks like a large, sophisticated membrane virus, but is entirely biosynthetic and contains nothing viral. The immune system will still react to protect itself and develop antibodies capable of blocking the allergic reaction,” said Dr. Tropper. The goal of this vaccine is not to develop tolerance or desensitization, but to reverse the allergic dynamic by establishing protection in patients. The vaccine is currently being tested for the first time on humans at Imperial College London. The study will evaluate the allergenicity and immunogenicity of the new vaccine in adult patients allergic to cat dander. According to Dr. Tropper, the first formal results should be available around mid-December. Vaccine administration The Angany vaccine is administered by subcutaneous injection into the patient's arm, similar to desensitization. Treatment includes an initial injection, a booster shot a few weeks later, and booster shots every six to 12 months. However, booster vaccines may be spaced further apart. “That’s what clinical development will allow us to determine,” explained Dr. Tropper. Furthermore, it does not exclude that two doses of the vaccine could be curative in very young patients in whom the allergy is not clearly established. “It’s very theoretical. We still don’t have a lot we can prove.” Read: Smartphone potential harborers of significant allergens: study Preclinical studies of the vaccine have demonstrated that this treatment would be approximately 1,000 times more powerful than what is used for desensitization, indicates the doctor. He adds that studies have also demonstrated that this approach is between 100 and 1,000 times less likely to cause hypo-allergenicity, or an allergic response, in patients than a desensitization process. Other allergies on the horizon? Dr. Tropper said Angany is also working to adapt its technology to peanut allergies. They are currently carrying out tests at the preclinical level. Although the development of vaccines for other types of allergies is dependent on the results obtained with the clinical trial concerning cat allergy, the doctor indicates that his team plans to explore the avenue of allergies to dust mites, pollen, birch, venom and various foods. “The results are very promising and give us hope for treating not only cat allergies, but also all allergic people in general,” Dr. Tropper added. Read: A meat allergy caused by tick spit is getting more common, CDC says

Vaccine paves the way for new treatments for allergies

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