Newer therapies for asthma: a focus on anti-IgE

The prevalence of asthma and other allergic disorders has been on the increase not only in the western world but also in the developing countries. This increasing prevalence has lead research into the discovery and development of various new therapeutic strategies. The improved understanding about the pathophysiology of asthma has prompted the developments of novel molecules to tackle this problem. These include newer phosphodiesterase inhibitors, cytokine modulation strategies, allergen immunotherapy, and anti-IgE. Immunoglobulin E plays a major role in airway inflammation in asthma. Omalizumab, a novel humanised monoclonal antibody directed against the high affinity FcepsilonRI portion of the IgE has shown a lot of promise in the control of asthma symptoms and as a steroid sparing agent in the management of allergic asthma. This new molecule has an excellent safety profile and could play an important role in the management of patients with severe asthma. This review gives a brief overview of the newer therapies under investigation with special reference to omalizumab in the treatment of allergic asthma.