By Henry Ehrlich
Trying to cover the AAAAI meeting in San Diego, California from Brooklyn, NY is a challenge, but I have found a way. The abstracts are available online and so I will periodically scan them for themes I think are important and also any research by guest editorialists we have featured on this website, and excerpt them.
This first post is about omalizumab (Xolair), the drug that “works by binding a particular epitope on the handle-like portion of IgE antibodies so they can no longer attach to their allergen-specific high-affinity receptors on the mast cell. They become, in effect, square pegs that can no longer fit in their round holes.”
2 Relapse Of Severe Asthma Exacerbations After Cessation Of Omalizumab Treatment – Real Life Data Dr. Izabela R. Kuprys-Lipinska, MD, PhD, Prof. Piotr Kuna, MD, PhD; Dept. of Internal Medicine, Asthma and Allergy, Medical University in Lodz, Poland.
CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate, that withdrawal of OMA therapy,
after successful long-term therapy, may cause severe asthma exacerbations
in a certain group of patients therefore each decision regarding cessation of
OMA treatment should be undertaken individually after careful weighing
of benefits and risks.
5 Long-Term Effectiveness Of Omalizumab Treatment In Thai Severe Asthmatic Patients: A Real-Life Experience Dr. Orapan Poachanukoon, MD et al
CONCLUSIONS: This data confirms the effectiveness of omalizumab in Thai severe asthmatic patients but also confirms a high relapse rate in Thai patients who received omalizumab for 2 years or less.
We know that omalizumab works well with asthma, and its anti-IgE capability has been explored for chronic urticaria and as an adjunct to oral immunotherapy for food allergies, but these two abstracts raise a red flag. Diamonds are forever, but you only have to buy them once. At $1000 a month, Xolair makes diamonds look like a bargain.