Omalizumab

Omalizumab, sold under the trade name Xolair, is a humanized antibody originally designed to reduce sensitivity to inhaled or ingested allergens, especially in the control of moderate to severe allergic asthma, which does not respond to high doses of corticosteroids. It has been approved for treating adult and adolescent patients 12 years and older with severe or moderate to severe allergic asthma in more than 90 countries, since its first of such approval in 2002 in Australia. Omalizumab was approved in March 2014 in the European Union and the U.S.A. and in about 10 other countries for treating patients 12 years and above with chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) (also referred to as chronic idiopathic urticaria or CIU), which cannot be treated with H1-antihistamines. CSU is not an allergic disease. Presently, the drug is being actively studied in clinical trials for various allergic diseases and some non-allergic diseases, especially skin diseases.