The new vaccine type can potentially provide safer, more targeted treatment with fewer side effects than existing therapies

Russian scientists have developed a new vaccine designed to protect against cat allergy, one of the world's most ubiquitous types of hypersensitivity, Moscow's Sechenov University has announced.

The vaccine, created in cooperation with the Medical University of Vienna, is currently in the preparatory stage for human trials.

Allergies to cats - which can manifest with symptoms such as sneezing, coughing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and itchy eyes and skin - affect up to 20% of the world's population, according to various studies.

The newly developed recombinant vaccine - the world's first for cat allergy - is expected to provide safer, more targeted treatment with fewer side effects than existing therapies, the researchers said.

Recombinant vaccines are made using a small, harmless part of the virus or allergen - usually a protein - which is produced in a lab, rather than being taken directly from the actual virus, bacteria, or allergen source.

The structure and development of a new class of recombinant vaccines were described by a group of scientists in an article published in the scientific journal Allergy in April.

Preclinical efficacy tests of the vaccine were conducted on rabbits. Scientists found that the vaccine stimulates the production of antibodies that block up to 85% of the allergic reaction triggered by cat allergens, the scientists said, adding that existing drugs used for allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) showed weaker results during studies.

The researchers have selected the two most promising vaccine designs for cat allergy based on the results of the study, the press service of Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University said in a statement earlier this week.

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"The allergies can be treated using ASIT - a method that involves introducing the allergen into the body - to gradually build up resistance to its effects. However, the ASIT drugs currently available are extract-based vaccines, meaning the allergens are directly derived from cat fur," Aleksandr Karaulov, the head of the Department of Clinical Immunology and Allergology at Sechenov University, said.

He noted that it is difficult to maintain the correct dosage of the allergen in these types of vaccines, adding that they do not cover the full range of allergenic proteins, require multiple injections, and can cause allergic side effects.