Pollen AllergyPhase 3NCT00263627
Safety and Efficacy of Specific Immunotherapy With an Aluminium Hydroxide-adsorbed Allergoid Preparation of Birch Pollen Allergens
A Phase 3 study testing Birch pollen allergoid in people with Pollen Allergy, run by Allergopharma GmbH & Co. KG at 1 site in Germany.
Trial summary
The aim of this clinical trial is to show safety and efficacy of the allergoid preparation of birch pollen allergens in the treatment of birch allergic patients in a representative number of patients. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 60 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Pollen Allergy
- What is being tested?
- Birch pollen allergoid
- Type of treatment
- Injection or infusion
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 253 participants
- Where
- 1 siteGermany
- Study dates
- Jun 2005to Mar 2010
- Phase
- Phase 3
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 60 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Rhinitis
- Rhinoconjunctivitis
- Positive skin prick test to birch pollen
- Positive radioallergosorbent test (RAST) to birch pollen
- Positive provocation test result to birch pollen
Who cannot join
- Serious chronic diseases
- Other perennial allergies
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
About this study
Official title: A Multicentre Randomised Placebo-controlled Double-blind Clinical Trial for Evaluation of Safety and Efficacy of Specific Immunotherapy With an Aluminium Hydroxide-adsorbed Allergoid Preparation of Birch Pollen Allergens
The aim of this clinical trial is to show safety and efficacy of the allergoid preparation of birch pollen allergens in the treatment of birch allergic patients in a representative number of patients.
Read the detailed description
Type I allergy is an immune-disorder which stems from the formation of IgE antibodies against proteins and glycoproteins from plants, insects, animals and fungi, most of which for healthy subjects are considered to be harmless. However, in allergic patients the cross-linking of specific IgE-antibodies on effector cells by allergens activates an immunological cascade leading to the symptoms of Type I allergy including rhinitis, conjunctivitis, asthma, and anaphylactic shock. Pollens from wind-pollinated plants including trees, grasses and weeds, are amongst the most frequent and potent elicitors of Type I allergy. It is not possible to avoid exposure to these pollens and therefore the symptoms that patients inevitably suffer must be treated with either symptomatic medication or allergen specific immunotherapy.
The Betulaceae family includes the genera Alnus (alder), Betula (birch) and Corylus (hazel). Trees belonging to these genera are widespread in middle and northern Europe and, in combination with the fact that they shed large quantities of wind-borne pollen, leads to their allergenic significance. The prevalence of sensitisation to birch pollen has been studied, and in the case of a middle European (Viennese) population, for example, it has been demonstrated that approximately 40 % of patients with allergic rhinitis are sensitised. Although the pollen season for any one genera seldom lasts for more than a few weeks, the well-documented cross-reactivity between the different Betulaceae and other tree pollens of the Fagales order contributes to a protracted season of symptoms for many allergic patients.
Allergoids are prepared by chemical modification of partially purified native aqueous aller-gen extracts. Native allergen extracts are depleted of components with a molecular mass of less than 5000 Dalton by diafiltration prior to chemical modification with aldehydes. The modification causes a substantial reduction in the allergenicity of the extract as can be judged by skin prick testing, provocation testing, histamine release from sensitised leukocytes and measurement of IgE-binding activity by RAST-inhibition. However, immunogenic activity and T-cell reactivity are retained. These properties enable allergoids to be used as a basis for allergen specific immunotherapy with a reduced risk of inducing IgE-mediated side-reactions and the possibility of administering larger doses of immunogen over a shorter time course than with native allergens.
- Conditions
- Pollen Allergy
- Being tested
- Birch pollen allergoid, Placebo
- Keywords
- specific immunotherapy, birch pollen allergy, Allergovit
- Medical subject headings
- Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Birch pollen allergoidBiological
Also called specific immunotherapy
Subcutaneous injections were applied in the upper arm. Vials with three different concentrations were used: Strength A (1000 TU/mL), strength B (10 000 TU/mL) and strength 0 (100 TU/mL) by dilution of strength A.
PlaceboOther
Also called Comparator
Sterile aluminium hydroxide suspension for subcutaneous injection were applied in the upper arm. Vials with strength A contained 0.0125 mg/mL and with strength B 0.125 mg/mL histamine-dihydrochloride and strength 0 was produced by dilution of strength A. The vials containing the placebo solution were identical in their outer appearance with the active study preparation of the birch pollen allergoids.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Placebo | Placebo comparator | Sterile aluminium hydroxide suspension for subcutaneous injection were applied in the upper arm. Vials with strength A contained 0.0125 mg/mL and with strength B 0.125 mg/mL histamine-dihydrochloride and strength 0 was produced by dilution of strength A. The vials containing the placebo solution were identical in their outer appearance with the active study preparation of the birch pollen allergoids. Receives: Other: Placebo |
| Specific Immunotherapy | Experimental | Subcutaneous injections with birch pollen allergoid were applied in the upper arm. Vials with three different concentrations were used: Strength A (1000 TU/mL), strength B (10 000 TU/mL) and strength 0 (100 TU/mL) by dilution of strength A. Receives: Biological: Birch pollen allergoid |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Symptom Medication Score (SMS)
The primary endpoint was the area under the curve (AUC) of the daily sum of the Symptom Medication Score (SMS) after two years of double-blind treatment. Each patient recorded the information used for deriving the SMS over a period of eight to twelve weeks during the two double-blind pollen seasons in 2006 and 2007.
Measured: over a period of eight to twelve weeks during the two pollen seasons in
Secondary outcomes (1)
Adverse events (AEs)
Safety: (all five years of treatment) occurrence of adverse events (AEs).
Measured: Entrire study period.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted9 Dec 2005 (estimated)
- Study startJun 2005
- Primary completionJun 2007
- Study completionMar 2010
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Pollen AllergyStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase 3
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Quadruple blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Care provider, Investigator, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 253 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Allergopharma GmbH & Co. KG
- Sponsor type
- Industry (pharma, biotech, devices)
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Annemie Narkus, M.D., Principal investigator
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00263627
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- Al0204AV
- Other IDs
- 2005-000025-35, 2005
- Status last verified
- Nov 2013
- First submitted
- 8 Dec 2005
- Last updated
- 3 Jul 2014
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 3 Jul 2014. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- A Multicentre Randomised Placebo-controlled Double-blind Clinical Trial for Evaluation of Safety and Efficacy of Specific Immunotherapy With an Aluminium Hydroxide-adsorbed Allergoid Preparation of Birch Pollen Allergens
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT00263627
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- Al0204AV
- Conditions
- Pollen Allergy
- Keywords
- specific immunotherapy, birch pollen allergy, Allergovit
- Phase
- Phase 3
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 253 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Allergopharma GmbH & Co. KGIndustry (pharma, biotech, devices)
- Study start
- Jun 2005
- Primary completion
- Jun 2007 (actual)
- Study completion
- Mar 2010 (actual)
- First posted
- 9 Dec 2005 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
The aim of this clinical trial is to show safety and efficacy of the allergoid preparation of birch pollen allergens in the treatment of birch allergic patients in a representative number of patients.
Detailed description
Type I allergy is an immune-disorder which stems from the formation of IgE antibodies against proteins and glycoproteins from plants, insects, animals and fungi, most of which for healthy subjects are considered to be harmless. However, in allergic patients the cross-linking of specific IgE-antibodies on effector cells by allergens activates an immunological cascade leading to the symptoms of Type I allergy including rhinitis, conjunctivitis, asthma, and anaphylactic shock. Pollens from wind-pollinated plants including trees, grasses and weeds, are amongst the most frequent and potent elicitors of Type I allergy. It is not possible to avoid exposure to these pollens and therefore the symptoms that patients inevitably suffer must be treated with either symptomatic medication or allergen specific immunotherapy.
The Betulaceae family includes the genera Alnus (alder), Betula (birch) and Corylus (hazel). Trees belonging to these genera are widespread in middle and northern Europe and, in combination with the fact that they shed large quantities of wind-borne pollen, leads to their allergenic significance. The prevalence of sensitisation to birch pollen has been studied, and in the case of a middle European (Viennese) population, for example, it has been demonstrated that approximately 40 % of patients with allergic rhinitis are sensitised. Although the pollen season for any one genera seldom lasts for more than a few weeks, the well-documented cross-reactivity between the different Betulaceae and other tree pollens of the Fagales order contributes to a protracted season of symptoms for many allergic patients.
Allergoids are prepared by chemical modification of partially purified native aqueous aller-gen extracts. Native allergen extracts are depleted of components with a molecular mass of less than 5000 Dalton by diafiltration prior to chemical modification with aldehydes. The modification causes a substantial reduction in the allergenicity of the extract as can be judged by skin prick testing, provocation testing, histamine release from sensitised leukocytes and measurement of IgE-binding activity by RAST-inhibition. However, immunogenic activity and T-cell reactivity are retained. These properties enable allergoids to be used as a basis for allergen specific immunotherapy with a reduced risk of inducing IgE-mediated side-reactions and the possibility of administering larger doses of immunogen over a shorter time course than with native allergens.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Quadruple blind (participant, care provider, investigator, outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Placebo | Placebo comparator | Other: PlaceboSterile aluminium hydroxide suspension for subcutaneous injection were applied in the upper arm. Vials with strength A contained 0.0125 mg/mL and with strength B 0.125 mg/mL histamine-dihydrochloride and strength 0 was produced by dilution of strength A. The vials containing the placebo solution were identical in their outer appearance with the active study preparation of the birch pollen allergoids. |
| Specific Immunotherapy | Experimental | Biological: Birch pollen allergoidSubcutaneous injections with birch pollen allergoid were applied in the upper arm. Vials with three different concentrations were used: Strength A (1000 TU/mL), strength B (10 000 TU/mL) and strength 0 (100 TU/mL) by dilution of strength A. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 60 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Rhinitis
- Rhinoconjunctivitis
- Positive skin prick test to birch pollen
- Positive radioallergosorbent test (RAST) to birch pollen
- Positive provocation test result to birch pollen
Key exclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Serious chronic diseases
- Other perennial allergies
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Birch pollen allergoidAlso: specific immunotherapySubcutaneous injections were applied in the upper arm. Vials with three different concentrations were used: Strength A (1000 TU/mL), strength B (10 000 TU/mL) and strength 0 (100 TU/mL) by dilution of strength A. | Biological | Specific Immunotherapy |
| PlaceboAlso: ComparatorSterile aluminium hydroxide suspension for subcutaneous injection were applied in the upper arm. Vials with strength A contained 0.0125 mg/mL and with strength B 0.125 mg/mL histamine-dihydrochloride and strength 0 was produced by dilution of strength A. The vials containing the placebo solution were identical in their outer appearance with the active study preparation of the birch pollen allergoids. | Other | Placebo |
Primary outcome
Symptom Medication Score (SMS)
Time frame: over a period of eight to twelve weeks during the two pollen seasons in
The primary endpoint was the area under the curve (AUC) of the daily sum of the Symptom Medication Score (SMS) after two years of double-blind treatment. Each patient recorded the information used for deriving the SMS over a period of eight to twelve weeks during the two double-blind pollen seasons in 2006 and 2007.
1 secondary outcome
Adverse events (AEs)
Time frame: Entrire study period.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 3 Jul 2014.
- Leader in specific allergy research and therapyLink provided by the sponsor.
- Click here for information about this trial in the European Clinical Trials RegisterLink provided by the sponsor.
Related trials for Pollen Allergy
Not yet recruiting
Localized Aeroallergen Exposure in Atopic Dermatitis
Atopic Dermatitis
RecruitingPhase 1
Safety, Tolerability And Pharmacodynamics of DM-101PX in Birch Pollen Allergy
Birch Pollen Allergy
Active, not recruitingPhase 3
A Clinical Study Evaluating the Efficacy and Safety of SHR-1819 Injection in Patients With Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis
Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis
Enrolling by invitationObservational study
Identification of Allergen-reactive Antibodies in the Blood of Pollen Allergic Patients
Pollen Allergy
RecruitingObservational study
Investigating Nasal and Ocular Immune Response to Conjunctival Allergen Exposure
Allergic Rhinoconjunctivitis
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Annemie Narkus, M.D. principal investigator
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A Phase 3 study testing Birch pollen allergoid in people with Pollen Allergy, run by Allergopharma GmbH & Co. KG at 1 site in Germany.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 2 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 3 Jul 2014. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Germany. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
What does this phase mean?
Phase 3 studies compare the treatment with the current standard treatment or a placebo in a large group, to confirm how well it works and watch for side effects.
Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Symptom Medication Score (SMS) (time frame: over a period of eight to twelve weeks during the two pollen seasons in). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 3 Jul 2014.