Point of care diagnosis for hayfever and asthma; development and validation of rapid subtropical specific IgE tests

This project proposes to use allergen molecules of subtropical grass pollen for more specific tests and treatments to assist people allergic to grasses in subtropical regions. Approximately 15% of the Australian population suffers from allergic diseases and the devastating effect of such allergies was felt in the recent thunderstorm asthma event in Melbourne where over 12,000 people were affected and 9 reportedly died. After identifying and characterising all the key allergens of two major subtropical grass pollens and making headway in subtropical grass pollens research, A/Prof Davies is proposing to partner with Abionic SA, a Swiss company that has developed an instrument that quickly measures levels of sensitivity to allergens in doctors’ rooms, to investigate whether recombinant version of their pollen allergens are effective as a more specific and rapid point of care diagnostic test for grass pollen allergy in warmer regions of the world. NFMRI funding would help support optimal generation and purification of two quality assessed recombinant allergen components, as well as trialling these component on a new point of care diagnostic platform. The pre-commercial research will advance the innovations quickly for commercial uptake.