Biologics in Philadelphia: Treatment for Asthma & Allergies

Congratulations to the allergy and asthma doctors at The Asthma Center for winning Philadelphia Magazine’s Top Doctors award! Our doctors look forward to seeing you in any of our office locations in Philadelphia and South Jersey for the use of biologics.

Many have heard of allergy shots for allergy treatment, but have you heard about biologic drugs? Biologics are a new class of drugs that have revolutionized the treatment of asthma, hives, and nasal polyps. The Asthma Center is one of the few doctor offices in metropolitan Philadelphia and South Jersey where biologics are used. Our allergy and asthma doctors have successfully used biologic drugs to treat numerous patients with great results.

What are Biologics? What are Biologic Drugs?

Biologics are drugs that are derived from living cells, blood, proteins, viruses, and more. Some common examples of biological drugs include vaccines, blood components, cells, allergens, amongst others. Their diverse sources often make the resulting product more complicated (and often more expensive) than normal drugs. In addition, traditional drugs are normally stored as pills or solutions, but the increased complexity of biologics requires different storage and more timely use. Biologic drugs can be used for a variety of conditions, including:

• Biologics for rheumatoid arthritis
• Biologics for psoriasis
• Biologics for Crohn’s disease
• Biologics for asthma
• Biologics for eczema
• Biologics for allergies
• Biologics for hives
• Biologics for food allergies
• Biologics for environmental allergies
• Biologics for seasonal allergies (outdoor allergies)
• Biologics for animal allergies (e.g. dog allergies for cat allergies)

How Do Biologics Work for the Treatment of Allergies and Asthma?

The idea behind using biologics for more specific and complex treatment of allergies is to target proteins that attack key steps in the physiological pathway of an allergic reaction. The goal of this is to stop inflammatory reactions before they occur, as opposed to traditional drugs that treat the inflammation once it has occurred. For example, the food allergy pathway starts with the body mistaking a piece of normal food for a foreign allergen. A biologic drug can be used to block a specific signaling molecule in the allergy response-producing pathway, thus preventing or reducing the inflammation response that the molecule would have been signaled. There are also multiple classifications of biological drugs. First generation biological drugs are derived directly from animals or humans rather than produced in a lab. For example, a first-generation biological can be something like an antibiotic or vaccine. The second-generation biological drugs incorporate the ability to edit the drug’s properties.

How Our Doctors in Philadelphia Use Biologics for Allergies

In many cases, patients who visit The Asthma Center have already tried at-home treatments for allergies, like antihistamines or nasal steriod sprays, but do not have successful results and still experience allergy symptoms. When a patient comes to an allergy doctor, we first use allergy tests to determine the cause of allergy symptoms. Then, based on the diagnosis, the doctor will determine if biologics are the right choice to treat your allergies. Biological drugs can be used to treat food allergies, as well as seasonal alleriges (pollen allergies) and pet allergies. Biologic drugs can also be used for allergy related conditions, like eczema and hives. Common biologics that our allergy doctors use in our Philadelphia area offices for allergy treatment include Xolair, Nucala, and Dupixent.

How Our Doctors in Philadelphia Use Biologics for Asthma Treatment

Similarly, patients with asthma symptoms who are seen by our asthma doctors have often tried often asthma treatments, like steriods and inhalers. With persistent asthma or chronic asthma that is not well controlled by standard asthma medications, our asthma doctors consider biological drugs for asthma treatment. Common biologics that our asthma doctors use in our Philadelphia area offices for asthma treatment include Xolair, Nucala, and Dupixent.

What are Common Biologics Our Philadelphia Doctors Use for Treatment?

Common examples of biological drugs include Xolair, Nucala, Dupixent, Fasenra, Tezpire, and Cinquair. Xolair (omalizumab) is a medication used for asthma that works by blocking the allergen-specific antibody (protein) that responds to allergens and produces a typical allergic response (release of histamine and other inflammatory molecules). Xolair is often given as a subcutaneous (skin) injection, and can cause common side effects such as muscle or joint aches, fatigue, injection site reactions, and more. Nucala (mepolizumab) is a medication used for patients with eosinophilic asthma, or asthma that is caused by a certain inflammatory immune cell. Nucala attacks these eosinophils (the inflammatory immune cells) and reduces their levels, thus reducing the allergy symptoms. Like Xolair, Nucala is often given as a subcutaneous injection and can cause side effects such as headaches, injection site reaction, back pain, weakness, fatigue and more. Dupixent (dupilumab) is also for patients with eosinophilic asthma and is also given as a subcutaneous injection. Common side effects of Dupixent include sore throats, injection site reactions, and more.

Philly’s Best Asthma & Allergy Doctors for Biologics

As the Philadelphia region’s premier allergy and asthma practice, the doctors at The Asthma Center have been providing excellent allergy and asthma care to patients for over thirty years. Our doctors are on the cutting edge of treatments for allergies and asthma, and are leading specialists for using biological drugs in Philadelphia. We are proud to congratulate our several allergy and asthma doctors who have received Philadelphia Magazine’s award for “Top Doc” in Allergy and Asthma over the last several years.

Our allergy and asthma doctors treat patients for allergies and asthma with biologics in Philadelphia and the South Jersey locations:

Center City Philadelphia • Society Hill Philadelphia • Northeast Philadelphia

Langhorne, Bucks County PA

Mt. Laurel NJ