CATALYST – Clinical Trials, Cat Vaccine

Circassia LTD - SPIRE Treatment - Cat AllergiesThis is a topic we've mentioned before throughout the years and originally back in 2011, a novel treatment for cat allergies that is less invasive, less time consuming and as effective as more traditional allergy shots. British drug maker, Circassia LTD, is currently accepting patients for a phase-three clinical trial with this new treatment. What does this mean for those with cat allergies? Potentially – a lot.

_Like traditional allergy shots, the idea behind the treatment is to desensitize people who are allergic to cats. The big difference between this and traditional shots is two-fold. First, the shots are not subcutaneous, meaning they are more shallow and do not go beneath the skin. Second, the length of the proposed treatment would be significantly shorter, four to eight months as opposed to the more traditional three to five years worth of shots. This can not only make the process more convenient but hopefully less costly and invasive.

_The current trial is accepting people who have had cat allergies for at least two years, have a cat living at home with them, and are between the ages of 12 and 65. As the largest clinical study of this treatment to date, the CATALYST (Cat Allergy Study) is accepting over 1100 volunteers from seven countries.

_For people coping with cat allergies, this could be a dramatic step forward in treatment. Often times allergists recommend removing your cat from the household, and as one of the most common household pets, those with cat allergies often have allergic reactions outside of their own homes. One of the Most Common Household Allergens - Cat DanderCat dander is one of the smallest of common household allergens, and to make matters worse, it's ‘sticky’. This means that in places where cats have been, it's often extremely difficult to remove cat dander since it adheres to walls, furnishings, and flooring, nearly everything in a room. Nearly one in three households have cats. In addition to allergies, there is also a link to asthma reactions and cats, with one study showing over a quarter of asthma attacks being triggered by cat allergen. So, the potential that a shorter, less invasive and successful treatment holds a great deal of hope for the millions with allergies or asthma.

_The basis of the treatment is the proprietary ToleroMune technology. Molecules called SPIRES (Synthetic Peptide Immuno-Regulatory Epitopes) generate regulatory T cells. These T cells control the allergic response and stimulate tolerance of specific allergens.

Circassia is also working on a similar treatment for dust mite allergies, and back in September of 2013 they announced results of their phase-two trials. In this study, patients who had received four doses of the treatment over 12 weeks showed significant improvement one year after the start of the trial. This smaller phase-two study will likely in the steps of the cat allergy trials. With success, they will move on to larger, clinical, phase-three trials. In addition dust mites, Circassia has also finished phase-two trials of the same treatment for ragweed and grass allergies.

While we continue to patiently wait and hope, avoidance and more traditional measures, like the use of a high quality HEPA air purifier or antihistamines remain some of the best way to reduce allergic reactions to cat.

For more information on these phase-three clinical trials, contact your local certified allergist or visit the clinicaltrials.gov website

_Author: K. Gilmore

5 thoughts on “CATALYST – Clinical Trials, Cat Vaccine

  1. Anne June 19, 2014 / 10:28 am

    link to catalyst website is broken.

  2. KevvyG June 19, 2014 / 10:40 am

    Quite right! Hmmm… I'll have to do some digging. Since they've likely obtained enough people for the clinical trials, it appears as if they have let their domain registration expire. Still, I would think they would retain it, if for no other reason than to keep people updated. But I'll update it to a relevant link. Thanks for the catch!

  3. KevvyG September 2, 2014 / 9:24 am

    Thanks for the link share.

  4. Mike Weinstein December 8, 2014 / 4:14 pm

    I wonder if there are any sites in the New York City area for the clinical trial on the cat vaccine

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