A Booster for Allergy Vaccination
Researchers from Turku have developed a chemical compound that boosts the effects of allergy vaccination. The effect of the compound has been verified with cell models and animal tests; trials on humans have not yet been conducted.
The molecule, whose development was a cooperative effort by researchers from Åbo Akademi and the University of Turku, might lead to faster, shorter and more cost-effective desensitisation treatments. The process of desensitisation improves the immunity of an allergic subject to the allergen.
– This is an innovation with remarkable opportunities for financial implementation, emphasises Reko Leino, Professor of Organic Chemistry in Åbo Akademi.
He leads the research project together with Johannes Savolainen, Professor of Allergology in the University of Turku.
The new compound consists of carbohydrate assemblies and it is expected to serve as an adjuvant for allergy vaccines, in other words to boost the effects of the vaccines.
– Nowadays, a desensitisation vaccination consist of, for example, pure birch pollen allergen, which is given to the patient 4 million allergen units in 50 shots. When the adjuvant is added to the vaccine, 4 shots and 100 000 allergen units might suffice, says Professor Johannes Savolainen from the University of Turku.
Åbo Akademi and University of Turku are applying together for a multinational patent protection for their innovation and searching for a potential marketer.
The ground-breaking article, which describes the synthesisation of the compound and its effectiveness in the in vitro model conducted in a test tube utilising human white cells, has been published on the website of the journal Chemistry – A European Journal.
The effectiveness of the compound is also verified with a test animal model of acute allergy, the results of which will be published in the near future.
>>The article can be read on the website of Chemistry – A European Journal.