From the President

Dear Colleagues,

Since my last eNews message, the Allergenic Products Advisory Committee (APAC) of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) met and voted that the available safety and efficacy data supported approval of two sublingual allergy immunotherapy (AIT) products.

The APAC voted 9-1 on December 10 regarding approval of Stallergenes’s grass pollen tablet and 9-0 on December 11 regarding Merck’s grass pollen tablet. The FDA will need to give final approval, but it usually follows the advice of its advisory committees.

While it’s important to recognize that these two products are single allergen options, they will still be the first licensed therapies of their kind. There are no FDA-approved forms of sublingual AIT currently available here in the United States. I invite you to read the accompanying story in January eNews for more information, including excerpts of the email that was sent to members after the news of the votes broke and a link to the FDA’s website where you can view a webcast of the APAC meetings that took place on December 10 and 11. Additionally, I would like to point out that the APAC is scheduled to meet again on January 28 to discuss and vote on a ragweed tablet from Merck.

I received a variety of responses from members who took the time to write after reading the aforementioned email that went out after the APAC votes took place. Some articulated the very questions I posed in an article titled “Sublingual immunotherapy for aeroallergens: Status in the United States,” which appears in the January issue of Allergy and Asthma Proceedings and may be of interest for members to read.

Gaining FDA-approved sublingual AIT treatments will be a significant moment for our specialty. It will be critical for us to promote the allergist/immunologist as the expert in diagnosing the need for and prescribing not only sublingual AIT but all forms of AIT. At the same time, we also need to support our members and keep them up to date on the latest information and best practices regarding AIT. One place for you to do that is at the upcoming 2014 AAAAI Annual Meeting.

There are two particular sessions in San Diego that I encourage all members to attend. The first is this year’s Presidential Plenary, where I will focus on Immunotherapy: Mechanism, Outcomes and Markers. This special session will feature a timely discussion of the latest understanding of AIT. The 2014 Program & Planner has further details, but I invite you to hear more on Saturday, March 1 from 8:15 to 9:45 am.

Another standout Annual Meeting session is SLIT: Implementation in Your Practice. It will include a review of how SLIT works and the nuts and bolts of how to use it in practice. To ensure all delegates hear the important information presented, this Saturday symposium will be recorded onsite and will be available online free of charge to registered attendees following the Annual Meeting. More details on how to access the recording will be provided once the meeting is over.

The AAAAI is also preparing for our specialty to be in the spotlight for another reason. You may recall my announcement in September that the AAAAI will release a second Choosing Wisely® list on February 28 at the 2014 Annual Meeting. Our second list, which we are working with the ABIM Foundation to finalize, will allow us to further extend leadership in providing best care and making the case for the right care at the right time for the right patient.

It’s been emphasized that Choosing Wisely is not an effort to limit the availability of tests and procedures. Rather, its goal is to increase conversation among physicians and patients concerning procedures and tests that have the potential to be used inappropriately. To facilitate this goal, there is a new Choosing Wisely module available in the AAAAI Continuing Education Center. eNews contains additional information, but the point of the course is to ensure you are using effective patient communication skills and help you implement the recommendations from the AAAAI’s first Choosing Wisely list in your practice.

In a final piece of good news, two of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) asthma grant applications that received an AAAAI letter of support were approved for funding. The two studies are among eight that will examine strategies for reducing asthma disparities in high-risk populations. Congratulations to Andrea J. Apter, MD, MA, MSc, FAAAAI, an AAAAI Board member and principal investigator of the University of Pennsylvania study, and to Jerry A. Krishnan, MD, PhD, who is the principal investigator for the University of Illinois at Chicago project. You can read more in eNews about these projects that received AAAAI letters of support and were selected for PCORI funding.

As we begin 2014, please join me in making it a happy, healthy and productive new year.

Sincerely,

Linda Cox, MD, FAAAAI
AAAAI President
president@aaaai.org
 

Last updated: January 9, 2014