Effect of Allergy Immunotherapy Tablet in Patients with or without Local Application-Site Reactions

Abstract

T U E S D A Y 809 Ragweed Allergy Immunotherapy Tablet Reduces Use of Ocular Antihistamines in Patients with Ragweed Pollen– Induced Allergic Rhinoconjunctivitis David I. Bernstein, MD, FAAAAI, Hendrik Nolte, MD, PhD, Peter Creticos, MD, FAAAAI, Amarjot Kaur, PhD, Nancy Liu, PhD, Gary D. Berman, MD, FAAAAI, Jacques Hebert, MD, Jennifer Maloney, MD; University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, Bernstein Clinical Research Center, LLC, Cincinnati, OH, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc, Whitehouse Station, NJ, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, Merck, Whitehouse Station, NJ, Allergy and Asthma Specialists, Minneapolis, MN, Centre de Recherche Applique en Allergie de Quebec, Quebec City, QC, Canada. RATIONALE: Ocular allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (ARC) symptoms are bothersome, often requiring multiple daily applications of topical medications. Allergy immunotherapy is potentially an effective treatment of ocular ARC symptoms. In post-hoc analysis of data from 2 trials conducted to evaluate the effect of ragweed allergy immunotherapy tablet (AIT) treatment on ARC symptoms and rescue medication use, we characterized the effect of ragweed AIT on ocular rescue medication use. METHODS: Datawere pooled from 2 double-blind trials that randomized subjects with ragweed pollen–induced ARC with/without asthma to oncedaily ragweed AIT doses including 6 or 12 Amb a 1-U or placebo before, during, and after ragweed pollen season (RS; total treatment,z52 weeks). All subjects could use stepwise predefined allergy rescue medications, including olopatadine eye drops, during RS if prespecified symptom thresholds were met. This pooled exploratory analysis assessed effects of ragweed AIT on ARC ocular rescue medication use. RESULTS: During peak RS (15 consecutive days with highest moving average pollen count), 82/333 subjects receiving placebo used ocular olopatadine versus 55/317 and 43/311 subjects receiving ragweed AIT 6 and 12 Amb a 1-U, respectively, for reductions of 29.3% and 43.9% relative to placebo. During entire RS, 100/340 subjects receiving placebo used ocular olopatadine versus 71/324 and 61/318 subjects receiving ragweed AIT 6 and 12 Amb a 1-U, respectively, for reductions of 25.5% and 34.7% relative to placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Ragweed AIT reduced the need for ocular rescue medication throughout RS with notable reductions demonstrated during peak RS, when symptom burden can be expected to be at its worst.