Host: The 92nd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Pharmacological Society
Name : The 92nd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Pharmacological Society
Number : 92
Location : Osaka
Date : March 14, 2019 - March 16, 2019
Allergen specific immunotherapy is the only curative treatment for IgE-mediated allergic diseases in contrast to symptomatic treatment such as anti-histamine agents. Subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) has been introduced in Japan for treatment of allergic rhinitis and/or asthma caused by pollens and/or house dust mites (HDM) in early 1960s, and the clinical efficacy has been well-known. However, the major drawbacks of SCIT are necessity of repeated painful injections as well as the risk of severe systemic adverse reactions. Sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) was developed to resolve these issues. In Japan, Japanese cedar (JC) pollen SLIT-drop was developed initially for treatment of JC pollinosis, and approved for patients of 12 years of age and older in 2014. For adolescent and adult patients with HDM-allergic rhinitis, HDM SLIT-tablet was launched in 2015 and subsequently approved to be also available for pediatric patients (<12 years of age) in 2018. Moreover, JC pollen SLIT-tablet for JC pollinosis was approved in 2018 for all patients with no age limit. In this symposium, we present the development of SLIT drop/tablets including the current understanding on the mechanism of action.
