The ITN043AD GRASS study for hay fever sufferers, conducted by Dr. Stephen Durham at Imperial College in London, recently achieved a milestone by completing randomization of 106 study participants. The goal of the GRASS study is to compare the ability of two currently approved forms of immunotherapy treatment for hay fever, Grazax® (sublingual) and Alutard SQ® (subcutaneous), to potentially induce tolerance. Inducing tolerance could reduce the symptoms of hay fever, decrease the need for anti-allergy rescue medication and improve quality of life in hay fever sufferers.
Subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) has been shown to be effective at inducing prolonged remission of allergic symptoms in patients who do not respond to standard medication, but can require 3-5 years of treatment and must be administered by specialists. Alternatively, some studies suggest that sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) is also effective at inducing tolerance and has a better safety profile and more convenient administration. The goal of this study is to determine if SLIT can induce tolerance in hay fever using SCIT as a positive control.
Randomization of the participants began in non-pollen season beginning in October 2011 and completed in late February 2012. Participants will remain in the trial over a 3-year period, during which they will be provided with anti-allergy rescue medications including antihistamines during the pollen season.