Grazax: an oral vaccine for the treatment of grass pollen allergy (hay fever).

Abstract

Grazax is a self-administered, once-daily, tablet-based vaccine that offers an alternative to allergy shots for adults with grass pollen allergy (hay fever). (2) Evidence from three randomized controlled trials indicates modest improvements in hay fever symptoms, with reduced use of medication to control symptoms (rescue medication use) in adults who took Grazax compared with placebo. No studies have compared Grazax with injection-based allergen immunotherapy. (3) It is not yet known if patients treated with Grazax will have a sustained tolerance to grass pollen following treatment discontinuation. (4) Adverse effects of Grazax are generally mild to moderate local allergic reactions of short duration, and include itching and swelling of the mouth, and throat irritation. (5) If Grazax becomes widely prescribed and is covered by provincial drug plans, the costs to the Canadian health care system and the impact on allergy specialist services could be substantial.