Scientists Develop Vaccine That Prevents Cats From Making You Allergic to Them

https://www.newsweek.com/cat-allergy-vaccine-1454539

By K Thor Jensen On 8/15/19 at 12:52 PM EDT

A Swiss pharmaceutical company announced the development of a vaccine that makes cats less able to produce allergens, thereby lessening the likelihood of an owner developing an allergy.

In April, scientists at Hypo Pet published a study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology suggesting that an early version of its injectable vaccine performed well in clinical trials.

Founded in 2013 by the University of Zürich Switzerland and funded by grants from the Swiss government, Hypo Pet has partnered with a British company to bring new veterinary medicines to market. It's first drug, also called Hypo Pet, is unlike current treatments for feline allergies, which involve cat owners undergoing periodic injections designed to suppress the body's natural immune responses to the cat allergens.

Hypo Pet essentially makes cats hypoallergenic by reducing or eliminating the allergens their bodies naturally produce in the first place.

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It will likely be years before Hypo Pet is available on the market, though: The April study is the first step in a long process that will include human trials and approval from both European and U.S. drug agencies. The company has begun the ramp up to larger production, but no timeline has been set.

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