New trial of peanut sublingual immunotherapy completes first stage

ALK have announced that it has completed the first part of its phase 1 clinical trial known as ALLIANCE for a new immunotherapy tablet for peanut allergy. The trial will now progress into its second part, expected to complete later in 2024.

Sublingual immunotherapy (‘SLIT’) is a treatment where a small amount of a protein that causes an allergy is placed under the tongue on a regular basis, aiming to desensitise the person to that protein. The aim is to prevent allergic reactions if a patient accidentally eats their allergen in future.

The first part of the ALLIANCE trial investigated the safety of the drug and how well it is tolerated for 14 days, with different starting doses. It was found to be safe and tolerable at all starting doses, with similar tolerability to other SLIT-tablets. No serious side effects or cases of anaphylaxis requiring treatment were reported. 

The starting dose for the next part of the trial has been selected, and the next stage will assess the safety and tolerability of a higher dose. This is due to complete later in 2024. They also plan to submit a protocol amendment for a trial extension, aiming to include a third part of the trial with approximately 100 more patients to include an oral food challenge.

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