Private MD News

Potential new ragweed allergy therapy enters phase II clinical trials

Category: Allergy Testing

Circassa Ltd, a biopharmaceutical company focused on allergy treatments, has initiated a phase II clinical development program for a new ragweed allergy, commonly referred to as hay fever, therapy. The treatment is based on their ToleroMune technology, which has already completed a successful phase II trial on patients with cat allergies.

The study will be conducted in Canada, using 50 patients with confirmed ragweed allergies, and will compare a range of ToleroMune doses with placebo.

"Allergies to ragweed pollen are very common in the U.S., where they affect over a quarter of the population, and are a growing problem in Europe," said Steve Harris, Circassia's CEO.

A study in the February edition of the journal Allergy showed that the number of Europeans reacting positively to an allergy test has risen sharply. Hay fever is one of the most common allergies in the U.S., where roughly 36 million people are allergic, almost 20 percent of the population. About 75 percent of people who are allergic to plant pollen are allergic to ragweed.

Allergy tests can confirm whether or not you have a ragweed allergy.