Anti-IgE treatment represents a major breakthrough in the therapeutic management of severe allergic asthma. Omalizumab is the unique biologic treatment registered for asthma therapy in children. The clinical efficacy and safety of omalizumab treatment in the pediatric population has been extensively documented in specific trials and consistently expanded from real-life studies. In addition, new...

INTRODUCTION Chronic urticaria (CU) severely affects quality of life. If symptoms are not controlled by antihistamines, patients need immunomodulatory drugs. Recent studies show a tremendous effect of omalizumab, a monoclonal antibody against human IgE in refractory CU. METHODS We report on the use of omalizumab in four patients with CU. By reviewing medical files, we estimated the proportion...

Seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) induced by Japanese cedar pollens is a substantial problem in Japan. Omalizumab, a novel humanized monoclonal anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody, has already been proven to reduce symptoms associated with SAR. To investigate the safety and efficacy of omalizumab in the treatment of patients with Japanese cedar pollen-induced SAR compared to placebo or anti-all...

Background In Canada and the US, omalizumab is indicated for adults and adolescents (>12 years of age) with moderate to severe persistent allergic asthma. In the EU, omalizumab has been approved for children (age 6 – 11 years) since 2009. The pediatric population within Canada and the United States has very few treatment options available for severe asthma. Current treatments options can lead t...

BACKGROUND Chronic spontaneous/idiopathic urticaria (CSU/CIU) has substantial detrimental effects on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) with an effect comparable to or worse than many other skin diseases. OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of omalizumab on CSU patients' HRQoL, measured by the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) in three phase III studies ASTERIA I, ASTERIA II and GLACIAL. ...

BACKGROUND Asthma is a chronic airway disease characterized by airway inflammation, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and airflow obstruction. Patients with persistent symptoms despite maximum standard treatment as per Global Initiative of Asthma guidelines are considered to have severe persistent asthma. Omalizumab is a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody licenced for use as an add-on therap...

BACKGROUND Omalizumab is a humanized monoclonal anti-IgE antibody, especially useful for the treatment of severe persistent allergic asthma, inadequately controlled despite regular therapy. OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to determine the effect of omalizumab treatment on changes in endothelin-1 (ET-1), which plays an important role in the development of airway inflammation and remodeling...

BACKGROUND Up to 30% of patients with food allergies have clinical reactivity to more than one food allergen. Although there is currently no cure, oral immunotherapy (OIT) is under investigation. Pilot data have shown that omalizumab may hasten the ability to tolerate over 4 g of food allergen protein. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety and dose tolerability of a Phase 1 Single Site OIT protoco...

BACKGROUND Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is a common problem worldwide. We evaluated the direct medical costs of treating patients with refractory CSU and the budget effect of omalizumab use in these patients in Kuwait. METHODS The prevalence of CSU was estimated using the Delphi method. Medical records of patients with refractory CSU in Kuwait were reviewed. Costs were calculated from ...

Immunoglobulin E and its interactions with receptors FcϵRI and CD23 play a central role in allergic disease. Omalizumab, a clinically approved therapeutic antibody, inhibits the interaction between IgE and FcϵRI, preventing mast cell and basophil activation, and blocks IgE binding to CD23 on B cells and antigen-presenting cells. We solved the crystal structure of the complex between an omalizum...