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Company News: Long-Term Immunomodulation Induced by Anergis´ COP Allergy Vaccine AllerT Now Extends to the 4th Year After Treatment

Patients with birch pollen allergy who received an ultra-fast allergy vaccine four years ago maintain an elevated level of antibodies against the allergen, reports Swiss biopharmaceutical company Anergis.

The company, which is developing breakthrough allergy vaccines for fast and safe allergen-specific immunotherapy, today announced new data on the immune-regulatory effect of its AllerT vaccine.

In 2008/2009, twenty patients suffering from moderate to severe allergies to birch pollen were enrolled in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase I/IIa trial and received 5 subcutaneous injections over 2 months of either AllerT (N=15) or placebo (N=5). Four years later, all subjects were invited to return to the trial center. In subjects who had received AllerT, blood levels of so-called IgG4 antibodies against specific birch pollen allergens were similar to those reported after 2 years (in 2010) and still 4.5 times higher than the pre-treatment baseline level (p< 0.001). Placebo-treated patients showed no median change from baseline in allergen-specific IgG4 at any time during the trial treatment period, nor after the 2010 and 2012 birch pollen seasons.

Earlier this week, Anergis also announced the start of a large, 300-patient real-life seasonal efficacy phase IIb trial with AllerT in patients allergic to birch pollen. This trial is being conducted in multiple European countries [NCT01720251].