A drug created from the saliva of ticks is to be tested on people with hay fever.
Evolutec, based at Oxford Science Park, specialises in developing treatments from parasitic insects, which use various methods to avoid being attacked by the immune system of their hosts.
Its founders -- Dr Wynne Weston-Davies and Prof Pat Nuttall of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Mansfield Road, Oxford -- have discovered that the insects use proteins which could be used to treat allergic conditions and diseases such as arthritis.
Evolutec's latest treatment -- eye drops designed for people who are allergic to ragweed pollen -- has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for a clinical trial.
The compound is being made by US company Cobra Biomanufacturing.
US opthalmologist Dr Mark Abelson said: "This is a novel approach to the treatment of the eye."
Evolutec chief executive Dr David Bloxham said: "This is a very significant step for Evolutec, given the importance of the North American market and the demanding standards set by the FDA."
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