Doctor Bolibok spoke about the development of a vaccine against cat allergies

Scientists from Sechenov University, together with specialists from the Medical University of Vienna, have developed a vaccine against cat allergy, which has already passed successful preclinical studies. Now the drug is at the stage of clinical trials, but the results of this work may be unpredictable, told immunologist Vladimir Bolibok

“In the new development of Sechensky University, we are talking about combined allergens that have not yet been used,” Bolibok said in a conversation with 360.

According to him, in the new vaccine, “even the molecule itself is new.”

For this reason, among other things, according to the doctor, “the difficulties that scientists may encounter are unpredictable.”

Bolibok noted that cats have several proteins that cause allergies. The strongest allergen is the feline epithelium. Most likely, scientists took it as a basis for a vaccine.

“The meaning of the new approach to the development of a vaccine is to sharply reduce its allergenicity without changing the ability of this protein to induce an immune response,” the doctor explained.

This, he says, is “achieved by combining the cat allergen with another protein” that triggers an immune response.

Side effects from the vaccine will be revealed during clinical trials.

First, the drug is tested on volunteers who do not have diseases, and then trials will begin with people suffering from allergies to cats.

Cat proteins are a rather dangerous allergen that can cause, among other things, bronchial asthma. For this reason, most likely, the vaccine will be aimed primarily at removing the most severe allergic manifestations, the source said.