A novel serum-based assay of functional IgG inhibitory activity is predictive of the clinical response to immunotherapy

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Hayfever affects 12 million people in UK and may ruin what for most of us is the best time of the year. Hayfever impairs concentration at work and may reduce performance in school exams. Many sufferers respond to antihistamines and nasal steroid sprays. There remains a hard core who may benefit from allergy vaccination (desensitisation injections). Discovered in UK 100 years ago, this treatment is highly effective but requires specialist supervision . We have developed in partnership with a company, ALK Abello, an alternative, effective and safer vaccine containing grass extract that is taken daily as a rapidly dissolving tablet under the tongue (GRAZAX). Based on our understanding of how vaccination works, we now wish to develop a test that measures ‘protective’ antibodies in the bloodstream that will allow us to predict those patients who are likely to respond best to desensitisation and to monitor the effects of treatment.