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source: telegraph
by: Andrew Hough
Swiss researchers claimed allergies that blight the lives of 10 million British sufferers could be largely eradicated with a single vaccine.
An allergy conference in London heard the “one size fits all” injection that wards off asthma, eczema, hay fever and even peanut allergies could be on the shelves within four to five years.
Experts say if the jab, known only as CYT003-Qbg10 which has been tested on humans, is properly developed it becomes the “hail grail” of vaccines due to it helping ward off multiple allergies.
It would be welcome news to the estimated one in five Britons, or 10 million people, who suffer from hay fever.
A trial, conducted by scientists from Cytos Biotechnology, a firm based in Zurich, concluded that a course of the vaccine was almost as good as steroids at keeping asthma under control.
At the jab’s heart are pieces of synthetic DNA similar to those found in the bug that causes tuberculosis or TB.
The DNA fools the body into thinking it is under attack from a dangerous bug, kick-starting a multi-pronged immune response.
A total of 63 asthmatic patients were given the course of the jab or a series of injections of a dummy drug over two or three months.
Researchers found it cut asthma attacks or symptoms by a third.
In another trial, an injection every week over a month and half, cut the amount of runny noses and weepy eyes by almost 39 per cent.
Quality of life was boosted by 42 per cent, they added.
Dr Wolfgang Renner, the chief executive of Cytos, told the Daily Mail the results were exciting.
“We think it is a one-size-fits all mechanism,” he said.
“We are very excited about it.”
Dr Renner suggested the first large-scale human trial could start next year and a vaccine within a few years.
A spokesman for Allergy UK said: “It does sound a very promising treatment, giving hope for those with severe asthma/allergy symptoms for whom the usual treatments aren’t enough, but there is still a long way to go before it will be available.”
Leanne Metcalf, director of Research at Asthma UK, added: “Over three quarters of people with asthma also have an allergy, which can often trigger their asthma symptoms.
“We are, therefore, excited about the potential of this vaccine to make a real difference to people with asthma and allergies, especially as it has been shown in clinical trials to have relatively few side effects.”
This Tuesday is thought to be the worst day of the year for hay fever.
The NHS currently estimates around ten million people suffer symptoms of hay fever – such as sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes – in the spring and summer as grasses and trees release their pollen into the air.
But that number could reach 30 million within 20 years as city living, pollution and climate change exacerbate symptoms, experts warned earlier this year.
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