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Novel Biologicals for the Treatment of Allergic Diseases and Asthma

  • Allergies and the Environment (M Hernandez, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Allergy and Asthma Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

The development of biological therapies has rapidly progressed during the last few years, and major advances were reported for the treatment of allergic diseases, such as atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, urticaria, food allergy, and asthma. Here, we review biologicals targeting the type 2 immune response involving Th2 cells, type 2 innate lymphoid cells, natural killer T cells, mast cells, basophils, and epithelial cells, such as IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-31, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP).

Recent Findings

The biologicals that have been currently approved for asthma are omalizumab targeting IgE and reslizumab and mepolizumab targeting interleukin (IL)-5. Many other monoclonal antibodies are currently in various phases of clinical development. The new biological therapies for allergic diseases will eventually be tailored to the endotypes of these diseases and the identification of novel biomarkers.

Summary

Further development of novel biologicals for the treatment of allergic diseases and asthma will be possible upon improved understanding of mechanisms of allergic diseases. Accordingly, further refinement of endotypes of allergen-specific and non-specific type 2 immune response and related inflammatory mediators is needed for optimal treatment of allergic diseases.

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Acknowledgments

The authors’ lab has been supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation grant 320030–140772. H.T.T. is a recipient of EAACI Exchange Research Fellowship 2016 and receives a short-term grant (304/PPSP/61313076) from Universiti Sains Malaysia.

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Correspondence to Cezmi A. Akdis.

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Drs. Tan and Sugita declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this manuscript. Dr. Akdis is a consultant for Actellion, Aventis, Stallergenes, Allergopharma, and Circacia; is employed by the Swiss Institute of Allergy and Asthma Research, University of Zurich; and has received grants from Novartis, PREDICTA: European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme no. 260895, the Swiss National Science Foundation, MeDALL: European Commission’s Seventh Framework Programme no. 261357, and the Christine Kühne-Center for Allergy Research and Education.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Allergies and the Environment

Hern-Tze Tina Tan and Kazunari Sugita contributed equally to this work.

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Tan, HT.T., Sugita, K. & Akdis, C.A. Novel Biologicals for the Treatment of Allergic Diseases and Asthma. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 16, 70 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-016-0650-5

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