SQ house dust mite sublingual immunotherapy for the treatment of adults with house dust mite-induced allergic rhinitis

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Allergic rhinitis (AR) is one of the most common chronic conditions affecting both children and adults. The house dust mites (HDM) account for a substantial part of the overall sources of allergens. In patients where allergen avoidance and symptom-relieving pharmacotherapy do not provide adequate disease control, specific allergen immunotherapy (AIT) is indicated. While subcutaneous injection (SCIT) is considered as a time-consuming and invasive treatment regimen, sublingual allergy immunotherapy (SLIT) appears as more convenient treatment strategy.

Areas covered: This Drug Profile reviews the clinical data behind the development of the SQ HDM SLIT-tablet, including both the early studies and the pivotal studies, which formed the basis for regulatory approval in Europe, Japan, and the U.S.

Expert opinion: The clinical trials behind the development of the SQ HDM-SLIT have demonstrated that the tablet provides a safe, well-tolerated and robust efficacy in the treatment of HDM-induced allergic rhinoconjunctivitis. Further, studies show that the SQ HDM SLIT-tablet is a cost-effective treatment option compared with SCIT.

KEYWORDS:

• Allergic rhinoconjunctivitis
• asthma
• sublingual
• immunotherapy
• house dust mite

Article Highlights

• House dust mite induced allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and asthma (AR/C & A) compose a great burden worldwide

• The initial treatment of HDM-induced AR/C & A consists of allergen avoidance and symptom-relieving pharmacotherapy

• Allergen immunotherapy (AIT) can modify and alter the natural course of AR/C and asthma

• Subcutaneous AIT (SCIT) is the most known route of administration and requires medical supervision after each injection

• Sublingual AIT (SLIT) is designed for daily use and does not require medical supervision (besides at the first administration) and thus less time-consuming and laborious

• The SQ HDM SLIT-tablet offers a safe, well-tolerated and effective treatment of HDM-induced allergic diseases. Moreover, the clinical efficacy of SLIT is evident after 8-14 weeks of treatment compared with SCIT, which can take up to 1 year

Declaration of interest

H Meteran is member of an advisory board for ALK Nordic A/S. V Backer is a member of an advisory board for ALK Nordic A/S. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

Reviewer disclosures

Peer reviewers on this manuscript have no relevant financial or other relationships to disclose. ALK provided a scientific accuracy review at the request of the journal editor.

Additional information

Funding

This paper was not funded.