Southampton research has been central to the development and international licensing of the anti-Immunoglobulin-E (IgE) monoclonal antibody omalizumab, one of only two novel asthma therapeutics that have emerged over the last 30 years.
Asthma is one of the most chronic conditions in the developed world, affecting one in 11 children – and it is on the increase. Studies by Professor Stephen Holgate, Medical Research Council Clinical Professor of Immunopharmacology, and colleagues at Southampton have directly underpinned the role of IgE in asthma, leading to omalizumab as a treatment that has transformed asthma control and survival prospects for severe allergic asthmatics.
“We have demonstrated IgE’s role in multiple inflammatory processes, including long-term airway inflammation, cellular infiltration and remodelling, identifying to the field IgE as a common upstream target for controlling a wide range of acute and chronic inflammatory mechanisms in asthma pathology,” says Stephen. Stephen explains that omalizumab provides an effective therapeutic option for those with severe, persistent allergic asthma including those for whom standard therapy provides only limited control. He led one of five key clinical trials that demonstrated omalizumab’s safety and efficacy in severe allergic asthmas, leading to registration in the USA and Europe.
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