What is allergen immunotherapy (also known as desensitisation)?

Allergen immunotherapy, also known as desensitisation, uniquely alters the natural course of respiratory allergies. Allergen immunotherapy is the only therapeutic class capable of modifying the disease progression and potentially preventing the onset of the disease by inducing tolerance in the immune system¹.

Only an allergy specialist can prescribe an allergy immunotherapy treatment after an accurate diagnosis. Allergen immunotherapy is a second line treatment intended for patients (from 5 years of age) with respiratory allergies and for whom symptomatic treatments are insufficient or not well tolerated.

Allergen immunotherapy is a targeted treatment which consists in administering to the patient repeated doses of allergenic extracts, which will reduce the hyper-reactivity of the immune system and the inflammation. An AIT treatment can take between three to five years² to achieve a carry-over effect.