An allergy to cats affects between 8-17% of people in the US and Europe. It is one of the most common allergies. Discover a drug with minimal side effects which takes away that damned allergy and you’ll make a fortune.
This is what Circassia Pharmaceuticals tried to do. They reported on their website that trials were going well:
“Circassia’s cat allergy treatment contains seven synthetically produced peptides identified from the main allergen responsible for allergy to cats (Fel d 1). It has completed a number of phase II studies, and achieved encouraging results….”
The photos are thumbnails:
Then when they entered phase III testing it all went wrong. They found that the beneficially effects of a placebo nullified their optimism for their new drug. I presume that a placebo had similar beneficial effects if not better results than their drug. The end result being that they have had to abandon the drug at a write down cost of £74.5 million.
In fact the company is abandoning investment into its anti-allergy business entirely.
Circassia’s share value has fallen – they plunged in fact (see image) after announcing the failure of their anti-cat allergy drug. The company had floated at 310p and their share value now stands at 98p.
The fact that a placebo worked makes me think! Perhaps a part of the allergic reaction to cats is in the mind. Certainly the allergy can fade in time, I have found.
That is so sad. 🙁 My sister will hate to hear the news. She is allergic to cats, but fosters/owns them anyway.
But the correct formula is just around the corner. They just have to keep walking to get there. Best wishes to them and their journey to the perfect allergy relief.
Yes, it is sad, I agree. If it had worked it would have made millions of people happpy!