FRANCO FRATI, FRANCESCA SILVESTRI, ARIANNA PISANI, ENRICO COMPALATI
Lofarma S.p.A., Milan, Italy

Abstract

Specific immunotherapy (SIT) is the first-choice treatment for allergic respiratory diseases. Over the years, the literature has demonstrated that the focus of specific allergen immunotherapy has always been on the search for a safe, easy to use treatment to ensure good patient compliance. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely put many treatment plans to the test but, in the immunotherapy sector, it has been and is still possible to adopt safe treatments that allow them to be continued even during the course of emergency vaccinations, like that of COVID-19.

SPECIFIC ALLERGEN IMMUNOTHERAPY FROM 1911 TO THE PRESENT DAY: PRIORITY TO SAFETY
Since its discovery in 1911 allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT) has been widely used due to its efficacy and safety against allergic respiratory diseases.
The initial studies conducted on allergen-specific immunotherapy demonstrated its beneficial effect on hay fever and, in time, led to substantial scientific evidence, which has also been demonstrated by some meta-analyses (1).

Above all, on the safety issue, efforts have been made over the years to find an AIT formulation that not only maintained its efficacy, that is, immunogenicity, which is essential for inducing the immunological modification associated with effective AIT, but that also guaranteed the safety of the patient undergoing the treatment (2).

The pharmaceutical form used most frequently is sublingual tablets due to their ease of use. Over time, to satisfy the need to have an increasing number of safe and easy to use products for the patient, sublingual products consisting of allergoids obtained by carbamylation have been introduced.
In fact, carbamylated ...