News Archive

10/16/2000
Study Demonstrates Superiority of Allergy Blood Test
OLATHE, Kan. (October 16, 2000) – Millions of Americans suffering from allergy-like symptoms may benefit by taking a cue from their European and Japanese counterparts and asking their physician for a simple blood test to see if their symptoms are being caused by allergies. If they are allergic, the blood test can specify what the causal allergens are.

The test – the ImmunoCAP® Allergy Blood Test – is widely used in Europe and Japan and is a safe, effective and reliable alternative to traditional allergy testing methods. According to a study published in the June issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the Pharmacia Diagnostics ImmunoCAP Specific IgE blood test is the preferred blood test for determining the presence of specific allergies.

The study reported in June was conducted by researchers in Kansas, Mississippi, Ohio and Georgia, and compared the Pharmacia test and other available allergy blood test technologies with the ideal standards. The results demonstrated superior reliability and accuracy with the ImmunoCAP Specific IgE blood test.

In blood testing for allergy, a blood sample is taken from the patient and sent to a laboratory where it is analyzed for antibodies called immunoglobulin E, or IgE, to different allergens, providing evidence that a specific allergy exists. In this study, the ImmunoCAP technology-based system was compared to four other blood tests, including older radioallergosorbent (RAST™) technology, once considered the standard for allergy blood testing.

According to lead investigator P. Brock Williams, Ph.D., Director of Research at IBT Reference Laboratory in Lenexa, Kan., results of the study clearly show that data from different blood assay systems are not interchangeable. The study concluded that the ImmunoCAP Specific IgE blood test is clearly superior to the others, providing a reliable and accurate result.

"Only the Pharmacia system was capable of measuring specific IgE antibodies over a large range with precision and accuracy for the allergens studied," Dr. Williams stated. "As new allergy treatments are being developed which rely on accurate measurement of IgE, broader use of laboratory or in vitro methods for assessing allergen susceptibility will depend upon the reliability of the tests themselves."

In the study, sera were diluted and measured into blindly coded vials. These were then shipped to six laboratories, using five different testing methodologies. These included: Allergy Testing Laboratories, using a modified RAST methods (A-RAST); Allercare, using Diagnostic Products Corporation’s AlaSTAT (A-STAT) test; Commonwealth Medical Laboratory, using a Hycor Biomedical modified RAST test; Laboratory Corporation of America, using a modified Hycor Biomedical RAST test (L-RAST); IBT Reference Laboratory, using the Pharmacia CAP System™, and SmithKline Beecham Clinical Laboratories, using the Pharmacia CAP System.

The serum samples were tested for 17 common allergens, including cat dander, bermuda grass, timothy grass, white oak, short and giant ragweed and several common molds and yeast. Individual laboratory reports were forwarded to an independent statistical team who broke the code and analyzed the findings. This team analyzed over 12,000 data points making the results highly statistically significant.

Results from only two laboratories – the two using Pharmacia’s ImmunoCAP® technology – did not differ significantly from the ideal expected results. Results from the diluted samples revealed not only a significant difference between laboratories and methods, but also significant differences for the same allergens at the same lab.

While most patients in the U.S. suspected of having allergies still undergo traditional skin (scratch) testing from allergy specialists, doctors in many European countries and Japan are today routinely using blood tests, such as the ImmunoCAP technology-based system on a daily basis. Advantages of blood testing, in addition to decreased discomfort for patients, include the fact that blood tests can be performed on patients of all ages, including infants and the elderly.

Blood tests such as the ImmunoCAP Specific IgE blood test can be ordered by the patient’s primary care physician (family physician, internist, pediatrician) or by an allergy specialist, and they offer the opportunity to distinguish between allergies and other conditions with similar symptoms, such as colds and other respiratory infections.

For more information about allergies and diagnosis with the ImmunoCAP Specific IgE blood test, patients may call 1-877-862-4948 or visit the ImmunoCAP Web site at www.DoIHaveAllergies.com.

Pharmacia Diagnostics, a division of Pharmacia Corporation, is headquartered in Uppsala, Sweden, and is a world leader in in vitro diagnostic research and product innovation. The U.S. headquarters for Pharmacia Diagnostics is in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Pharmacia Corporation (NYSE:PHA) is a leading global pharmaceutical company created through the merger of Pharmacia & Upjohn with Monsanto Company and its G.D. Searle Unit. Pharmacia has a broad product portfolio, a robust pipeline of new medicines, and an annual investment of more than $2 billion in pharmaceutical research and development.

Pharmacia Diagnostics Web site: www.diagnostics.com.

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