More funding for novel allergy drug development

The Wellcome Trust has granted £390,000 (approximately $A596,000) funding to scientists at St George's, University of London and the University of Manchester to explore a new class of experimental drugs that block the trigger of allergic reactions before symptoms show.

The funding will help the researchers explore a novel finding from a study being conducted in a larger project also funded by the Wellcome Trust. In 2007, a £4.3 million ($A6.66 million) Seeding Drug Discovery award was granted to the team to investigate chemical compounds known as Allergen Delivery Inhibitors (ADIs). These compounds target the substances that can trigger allergies and asthma attacks directly, potentially preventing the cascade of events that lead to an allergic reaction. Existing medications for relief of allergy symptoms target the allergy cascade at a lower level where it has proven more difficult to modify the outcome of the reaction.

Experimental work on one of the first ADIs, developed to target dust mite allergens, has shown these inhibitors reduce the intensity of reactions in established allergy and can even prevent allergy from occurring.

The research team report they have made great progress towards developing a drug that will be safe and effective in humans, although a commercialised ADI product is still some way off. Once a lead compound has been identified and refined, its safety, tolerability and efficacy will be assessed in human clinical trials.