First vaccine against hay fever in 5 years on the market

When the first pollen fly through the air in the spring, the suffering period begins for many people: itching and watery eyes, a permanent runny nose and headaches make life difficult for allergy sufferers. Although drugs, so-called antihistamines, help against the symptoms of hay fever, there are also unwanted side effects such as permanent tiredness. An Austrian pharmaceutical company could have now found a solution to the problem: By a vaccine with four syringes, the symptoms of hay fever for several years to disappear. This reports the online edition of "The World". After successful testing, the vaccine could be approved by 2020.

Hay fever vaccine offers great hope for allergy sufferers
15 to 16 million people in Germany suffer from hay fever. Every year more people are allergic, because on the one hand due to the changed climate, the pollen flight times start earlier and stop later. On the other hand, according to experts, the genetic susceptibility to grass and pollen allergies increased.

So far, sufferers are treated with antihistamines or a so-called desensitization. In the latter case, the patient is given continuously increasing doses of the allergen over a longer period of time, so that the immune system gradually becomes accustomed to the supposed "intruder" and becomes desensitized. However, the undesirable side effects of this therapy include allergic reactions, which in rare cases can lead to allergic shock. By vaccination against hay fever, this risk could be significantly reduced.

Researchers have been working on developing such a vaccine for years, as pharmaceutical companies have a great economic interest in a vaccine against pollen allergy given the high number of people affected. The Austrian pharmaceutical company Biomay is currently developing the active substance BM32 together with researchers from the Medical University of Vienna.

Hay fever vaccine is based on the formation of harmless antibodies
An allergic reaction occurs because the pollen allergens bind to antibodies that are too abundant and make the immune system hypersensitive. These antibodies stimulate the release of inflammatory messengers, causing the typical symptoms such as watery eyes and a swollen nose.

The new vaccine contains only tiny altered protein portions of the allergens that trigger the allergic reaction. They were applied to the outer sheaths of defused hepatitis viruses. These transport the protein snippets to the immune cells, where the drug activates certain cells to produce harmless antibodies. If the vaccinated patient inhales pollen allergens, these are intercepted by the new antibodies on the mucous membrane. In this way, the allergens no longer reach the pathogenic antibodies.

According to the newspaper, the vaccine consists of four syringes. The first is given to the patient in the fall so that the vaccine remains in the body during the winter when no pollen is flying. At the beginning of the next pollen season, three more doses of vaccine will be injected, so that no complaints occur over several years. "The immune system builds up its changed reaction against the pollen only slowly", explain Rainer Henning, boss of the company Biomay, opposite the newspaper. "It has to be reminded several times how it should react." By the "memory syringes" the altered antibody levels should be held up. Over time, you could possibly reduce the number of syringes. BM32 could already be approved in 2020.

Several drug companies are currently testing hay fever vaccines
In addition to the Austrian pharmaceutical company, other drug manufacturers are working on vaccines against hay fever, such as the Swiss pharmaceutical company Anergis, which recently announced that "first tests with a vaccine for birch pollen allergy sufferers have been successful". For this vaccine, the patient must be given five injections within two months. British manufacturer Circassia is currently conducting tests on four injections of its Toleromune herbicide for grass allergies. " (Ag)

: Rosel Eckstein