AIT and Biologics in Severe Allergic Rhinitis: Where Do We Stand?

Allergic rhinitis is a highly prevalent disease - an inflammatory disorder of the nasal lining caused by a reaction to various allergens. In addition, it's a risk factor for several comorbidities, including allergic asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps - all of these conditions sharing a common pathology based on type 2 inflammation

The mainstay of treatment remains intranasal glucocorticosteroids and antihistamines, with the brief addition of oral corticosteroids for more severely affected patients. But for patients with severe Allergic Rhinitis, allergen-specific immunotherapy, also called AIT, which has been around for over 100 years, is a therapeutic option. It can lead to symptom relief, prevention of disease progression and even cure.

Many biologics are very expensive, but given the recent reduction in costs of omalizumab and the availability of less costly drugs with similar activities, called biosimilars, this option has become increasingly more palatable for those treating patients with severe Allergic Rhinitis

In this debate, we'll discuss where we stand about Allergen Specific Immunotherapy (AIT) and biologics in patients with severe allergic rhinitis.