CREATE Project: development of certified reference materials for allergenic products and validation of methods for their quantification

• Published in: Allergy (Copenhagen) Vol. 63; no. 3; pp. 310 - 326
• Main Authors: van Ree, R, Chapman, M.D, Ferreira, F, Vieths, S, Bryan, D, Cromwell, O, Villalba, M, Durham, S.R, Becker, W.M, Aalbers, M, André, C, Barber, D, Bahima, A. Cistero, Custovic, A, Didierlaurent, A, Dolman, C, Dorpema, J.W, Felice, G. Di, Eberhardt, F, Caldas, E. Fernandez, Rivas, M. Fernandez, Fiebig, H, Focke, M, Fötisch, K, Gadermaier, G, Das, R.G, Mancebo, E. Gonzalez, Himly, M, Kinaciyan, T, Knulst, A.C, Kroon, A.M, Lepp, U, Marco, F.M, Mari, A, Moingeon, P, Monsalve, R, Neubauer, A, Notten, S, Ooievaar-de Heer, P, Pauli, G, Pini, C, Purohit, A, Quiralte, J, Rak, S, Raulf-Heimsoth, M, Moncin, M.M. San Miguel, Simpson, B, Tsay, A, Vailes, L, Wallner, M, Weber, B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Denmark Oxford, UK : Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-03-2008; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: allergen standardization; Allergens - classification; Allergies; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid - standards; Clinical Medicine; Desensitization, Immunologic - standards; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay - standards; Europe; European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines; Female; Guidelines as Topic; Humans; Hypersensitivity - diagnosis; Immunotherapy; international standards; International Union of Immunological Societies; Klinisk medicin; major allergens; Male; Mass Spectrometry - standards; mass units; Medical diagnosis; Medical supplies; Quality control; recombinant allergens; Recombinant Proteins - standards; reference reagents; Reference Standards; Reference Values; Sensitivity and Specificity; Spectrum Analysis - standards; Standardization; Validation Studies as Topic; World Health Organization; Europe
• ISSN: 0105-4538; 1398-9995; 1398-9995
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2007.01612.x

Allergen extracts have been used for diagnosis and treatment of allergy for around 100 years. During the second half of 20th century, the notion increasingly gained foothold that accurate standardization of such extracts is of great importance for improvement of their quality. As a consequence, manufacturers have implemented extensive protocols for standardization and quality control. These protocols have overall IgE-binding potencies as their focus. Unfortunately, each company is using their own in-house reference materials and their own unique units to express potencies. This does not facilitate comparison of different products. During the last decades, most major allergens of relevant allergen sources have been identified and it has been established that effective immunotherapy requires certain minimum quantities of these allergens to be present in the administered maintenance dose. Therefore, the idea developed to introduce major allergens measurements into standardization protocols. Such protocols based on mass units of major allergen, quantify the active ingredients of the treatment and will at the same time allow comparison of competitor products. In 2001, an EU funded project, the CREATE project, was started to support introduction of major allergen based standardization. The aim of the project was to evaluate the use of recombinant allergens as reference materials and of ELISA assays for major allergen measurements. This paper gives an overview of the achievements of the CREATE project.