article

July 27, 2004

i'm not sure i'm allowed to post this, if not, delete it and yell at

me! its from medscape - you have to create a log in name to use the

link, but i cut/pasted it below the link.

heather

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Omalizumab Useful as Add-On Therapy for Poorly Controlled Asthma

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jul 20 - The anti-IgE agent omalizumab

improves lung function and reduces exacerbation rates when used as

add-on therapy for poorly controlled allergic asthma, new research

suggests.

The findings, which appear in the July issue of Allergy, are based

on a study of 312 patients with moderate-to-severe allergic asthma

who were randomized to receive best standard care (BSC) with or

without omalizumab for 12 months. BSC was based on guidelines by the

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Adding omalizumab to BSC reduced the average number of asthma

deterioration-related incidents from 9.76 to 4.92 per patient-year,

lead author Dr. Jon G. Ayres, from Liberty Safe Work Research Centre

in Aberdeen, UK, and colleagues note. The clinically significant

exacerbation rates were 2.86 and 1.12 per patient-year in the BSC

alone and omalizumab groups, respectively (p < 0.001 for both).

Omalizumab use was also associated with a significant reduction in

the need for rescue medications. Moreover, compared with the BSC

alone group, the omalizumab group showed improvements in FEV1 and

symptoms scores (p < 0.05 for both).

Omalizumab was well tolerated and, with the exception of cough and

nausea, most side effects occurred with equal or lower frequency

than with BSC alone.

" The findings of this study indicate that therapy with omalizumab,

combined with BSC, is well-tolerated and offers the potential to

improve disease control and symptoms in patients with poorly

controlled (moderate-to-severe) allergic asthma, " the investigators

conclude.

Allergy 2004;59:701-708.

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