NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An intranasal Syk-kinase inhibitor, designated R112, appears to be a useful treatment for seasonal allergic rhinitis, according to the results of a phase II trial.
By inhibiting Syk kinase, R112 blocks the mast cell response to allergic stimuli, lead author Dr. Eli O. Meltzer, from Allergy and Asthma Medical Group and Research Center in San Diego, California, and colleagues note.
In a report published in the April issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology for April, the researchers assessed the outcomes of 319 volunteers with seasonal allergic rhinitis who were randomized to receive R112 or vehicle control before being exposed to a park environment in the spring.
After 8 hours, the overall symptom score in the R112 group was significantly lower than that of the control group (p = 0.0005). Moreover, each of the scores for the individual symptoms, such as sneezing and runny nose, was significantly lower in the R112 group as well (p < 0.05).
The superiority of R112 over placebo in controlling rhinitis symptoms was apparent as early as 45 minutes after dosing and the effects lasted for longer than 4 hours, the investigators note.
The adverse effects seen with R112 were mild and no different in character or frequency than those observed with placebo, the researchers state.
The results suggest that “R112 is a safe and effective novel agent to treat the symptoms of seasonal allergic rhinitis and is worthy of further clinical investigation,” Dr. Meltzer’s team concludes.
The study was funded by Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which is developing R112 (see Reuters Health report August 2, 2004).
Source: J Allergy Clin Immunol 2005;115:791-796. [ Google search on this article ]
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