--- title: "Single Injection Appears to Prevent Virtually All Allergic Reactions" description: "An asthma medication called omalizumab can stop your body from having an allergic response to pollen and even food." date: "2025-04-20" modified: "2025-04-20" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/single-injection-prevent-allergic-reactions" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "allergens" - "allergies" --- # Single Injection Appears to Prevent Virtually All Allergic Reactions ![An asthma medication called omalizumab can stop your body from having an allergic response to pollen and even food.]() *\Image: H. Armstrong / Debrocke / ClassicStock via Getty / Futurism\* We could be nearing a cure for those nasty spring allergies — and even allergic reactions altogether. A decades-old asthma medication called omalizumab, which is sold as Xolair, has shown that it can successfully treat seasonal allergies in preliminary clinical trials. Administered as a single injection, it represents a type of treatment using lab-made proteins known as monoclonal antibodies, which can cut off your body's allergic response at its source. So whether it's pollen or peanuts bothering you, it's got you covered. "The biggest advantage of antibody-based therapeutics is that they offer the potential to target the underlying pathways driving allergic reactions in general," Sayantani Sindher, a clinical associate professor at Stanford University's Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research, [told ]()[*Vox*](). "This means antibody-based therapies will simultaneously impact all of the patient's allergens." The type of allergy medications you're probably familiar with, like Claritin or Zyrtec, are antihistamines. These target the chemical histamines that your immune system releases when it detects an allergen — correctly or otherwise — triggering those dreaded inflammation symptoms ranging from hopelessly runny noses to persistent rashes. But antihistamines don't work for everyone, and target the symptoms, not the cause. They also require that you stay on top of regularly taking them, something that most people aren't good at. Monoclonal antibodies, on the other hand, stop those histamines from ever hitting the bloodstream by [primarily targeting]() an antibody known as immunoglobulin E. Typically, when immunoglobulin E detects an allergen, it binds to your body's immune cells to instruct them to enter attack mode. Cleverly, monoclonal antibodies bind to the immune cells' receptors to stop those instructions from ever reaching them in the first place. The result is a treatment that is both more effective and longer-lasting. Omalizumab only requires a single shot taken two weeks before the start of the spring. In one [randomized trial](), published in the journal *Clinical and Translational Allergy* and cited by *Vox*, patients who were given a 300 mg injection experienced both fewer symptoms and fewer days that required them to take a daily antihistamine medication. It controlled nasal symptoms just as effectively as medication, and was even better at relieving eye symptoms. In all, participants' quality of life significantly improved. What's really groundbreaking, though, is omalizumab's ability to treat food allergies, too — a use that the Food and Drug Administration [approved in early 2024](). It may not allow you to go ham and eat anything you want, but it'll stop your day from being ruined if you accidentally eat something you're not supposed to. "Pollen allergy and food allergy are frequently found together," Sindher told *Vox*. "Omalizumab has the potential to treat both." While conventional allergy vaccines can help build up long-term tolerance to allergens, such treatments take years and only work with one allergen at a time, notes *Vox*. Omalizumab's benefits are instant, though periodic shots will be required. Still, at an [annual cost]() as high as $60,000, Xolair remains prohibitively expensive, and most insurers won't offer coverage for using it as an all-around allergen treatment. But there's a glimmer of hope: the FDA [approved a generic version]() of omalizumab in March, notes *Vox*, which could drive down costs in the future. **More on treatments:** *[Doctors Say They’ve Found a Way to Clean the Microplastics Out of Your Body]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()