Allergy Therapeutics PLC (LON:AGY) said the screening of the first patient in an exploratory field study of its short-course grass allergy inoculation has begun.
Its Grass MATA MPL treatment has been designed as an aluminium-free, allergen-specific immunotherapy to address the cause of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis due to grass pollen.
The field study is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised clinical assessment of 150 patients over 12 sites in Germany and the US.
It will evaluate the efficacy and safety of its optimised phase III dose and will provide “valuable information” in preparation of the final-stage clinical trial.
"This exploratory grass trial will drive study design innovation in the allergy field and is an important intermediate step for the optimisation of our upcoming pivotal phase III grass field trial, which will maximise the chances of success and entry into the US market,” explained chief executive Manuel Llobet in a statement.
“Parts of this protocol are ground-breaking and have the potential to significantly enhance science in this area."