Anergis on the way to a second-generation allergen immunotherapy

Stallergenes Greer, a worldwide leader in allergen immunotherapy (AIT) and Anergis, a leader in ultra-fast AIT research and development, recently announced the results of a joint research study evaluating the effects of second-generation Contiguous Overlapping Peptides (COP) allergen immunotherapy in a therapeutic model of birch pollen allergy, with the aim of shortening AIT administration schemes.

COP-Virosomes, COP alone and virosomes alone were compared to a placebo group in an in-house therapeutic model of birch pollen allergy. Recombinant Bet v 1 alone (the major allergen of birch pollen) and natural birch pollen allergen extract were also used as controls in this setting.

COP-virosomes were the only synthetic therapy able to fully reverse asthma symptoms as well as lung inflammation (i.e. significant reduction in eosinophils in bronchial fluids). Pro-allergenic immune responses also decreased with COP-virosomes therapy with a significant decrease of the IL-4, a Th2 cytokine. The results of the study will soon be published.

“These new data confirm that COP-virosomes are likely to be more efficacious clinically than a recombinant allergen or than the first generation of COP allergy vaccines which did not include the Mymetics virosomes. COP-virosomes may thus represent a breakthrough AIT treatment of the future”, said Vincent Charlon, CEO of Anergis.

“The results of this new study demonstrate the potential of COP-virosomes in allergy immunotherapy treatments. During these unprecedented times, Stallergenes Greer remains committed to furthering research to provide patients with long-lasting relief from the burden of allergies and improving their quality of life,” concluded Amer Jaber, Executive VP Operations Europe and President of Stallergenes SAS.