Inpharma 1368 - 14 Dec 2002

■ Levocetirizine is more effective than desloratadinefor treating seasonal allergic rhinitis under conditionsof prolonged pollen exposure, according to the resultsof a study presented recently at the Annual Meeting ofthe British Society for Immunology and the BritishSociety for Allergy and Clinical Immunology, held inHarrogate, UK. In the study, 373 patients wererandomised to receive levocetirizine 5mg,desloratadine 5mg or placebo, and were exposed toragweed pollen in an environmental exposure unit for7 hours on the first day and 6 hours on the second.While both treatments were significantly moreeffective than placebo, levocetirizine was found to besignificantly more effective than desloratadine inrelieving major symptoms at all time periods studied.Levocetirizine also had a more rapid action thandesloratadine (1h vs 3h) and a longer duration ofaction. There were no major differences in safetybetween any of the treatment groups.UCB Pharma. UCB Pharma: Clash of the Titans: World′s First Head-to-HeadData on Newest Antihistamines Has Implications for Hay Fever Patients.Media Release : 4 Dec 2002. Available from: URL: http://www.ucbpharma.com 809015928

1

Inpharma 14 Dec 2002 No. 13681173-8324/10/1368-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved