FDA OKs treatment for dust mite allergies

A new treatment for dust mite allergies has won approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

Odactra is a year-round, once-a-day tablet that’s dissolved under the tongue. It’s approved for use in people aged 18 to 65.

“House dust mite allergic disease can negatively impact a person’s quality of life,” said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

“The approval of Odactra provides patients an alternative treatment to allergy shots to help address their symptoms,” he added in an agency news release.

House dust mites are tiny bugs that are typically too small to see with the naked eye. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America says the mites feed mostly on small flakes of skin shed by people every day. These skin flakes work their way into carpets, bedding and upholstered furniture, the types of places where mites thrive, especially in temperatures of 68 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit.

Symptoms of dust mite allergies include a cough, sneezing, runny nose and congestion, as well as itchy and watery eyes.

Odactra exposes patients to dust mite allergens in order to retrain the immune system and reduce the frequency and severity of allergy symptoms. Patients should begin to see the benefit within eight to 14 weeks, according to the FDA.

In clinical trials, people who took Odactra had a 16 to 18 percent reduction in allergy symptoms requiring use of other medicine, compared with those who took an inactive placebo.

The most common side effects were nausea, itching in the ears and mouth and swelling of the lips and tongue. Odactra carries a boxed warning stating that severe, and potentially life-threatening, allergic reactions can occur.

GETTY Dust mites can cause coughing, sneezing and other symptoms in people allergic to the tiny bugs.