| DISEASE |
Allergic diseases are a major cause of chronic illness in the United States and are associated with an annual cost of over $18 billion dollars to the healthcare system. Two of the most prevalent types of allergic diseases, allergic rhinitis and asthma, impact approximately 25% of the U.S. population and account for an estimated $8 billion in direct health care costs. In addition, these disease states have a negative impact on productivity through lost days at work and school. A common link in the pathophysiology of both asthma and allergic rhinitis is that they are both initiated by an allergic response caused by hypersensitivity of the immune system to a specific antigen. A key component in this cascade of events is the IgE antibody, which is over produced in some individuals. The IgE-mediated response involves a complex chain of well-documented biological events that ultimately lead to an inflammatory condition within the membranes of the affected end organs. When these events occur in the nose or airway, they can cause the pathophysiology of allergic rhinitis or asthma, respectively. There are a number of options available for the treatment of asthma and allergic rhinitis; however, a major shortcoming of many of these therapeutic alternatives is that they impact the disease state primarily by modulating the target organ, as opposed to impacting the root cause of the disease state. Furthermore, there are no known, commercially available compounds that are designed to counter-regulate the production or release of IgE. The development of a novel, small molecule capable of suppressing the response of IgE in these disease states would be a valuable addition to a product portfolio. |
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