Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A humanized monoclonal antibody, used as an intravenous drug to treat severe asthma.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A monoclonal antibody used mainly in allergy-related asthma therapy with the purpose of reducing allergic hypersensitivity.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[oma-, origin unknown + -li- (shortening and alteration of immunoglobulin, the molecule targeted by the drug) + -zu- (shortening and alteration of humanized) + m(onoclonal) a(nti)b(ody).]

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Examples

  • The drug called omalizumab, marketed as Xolair, is given as a monthly injection by a doctor and has been shown to reduce the number of times a child has a severe attack.

    Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph 2010

  • A new drug called "omalizumab" (sounds like something Aleister Crowley would utter while trying to breathe life into a homunculus) promises to stop allergic reactions by blocking the action of the antibodies that trigger the reaction.

    Boing Boing: December 16, 2001 - December 22, 2001 Archives 2001

  • Researchers at Stanford University and Children's Hospital Boston created a new, expedited approach in which children were exposed to small amounts of milk powder along with the allergy drug omalizumab.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • In the study, 11 children with milk allergies were given omalizumab for nine weeks before being given a dose of two grams of milk protein, Nadeau said.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • It is estimated that just over 300 of these children may be eligible for treatment with omalizumab [10].

    BioSpace.com Featured News and Stories 2010

  • More recently omalizumab was approved by the same regulator as add-on therapy for severe persistent allergic asthma in children aged 6 to 11 years [3].

    BioSpace.com Featured News and Stories 2010

  • Last month the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) accepted the use of omalizumab for children in Scotland aged 6 to 11 years with severe, persistent allergic asthma who are prescribed chronic systemic steroids [6].

    BioSpace.com Featured News and Stories 2010

  • Results from a pivotal study submitted to NICE showed that omalizumab reduced asthma attacks by a third after 24 weeks of treatment [2] and provided an overall reduction of 50% at one year [2].

    BioSpace.com Featured News and Stories 2010

  • (NICE) has decided against recommending omalizumab for children aged 6 to 11 years with severe, persistent allergic asthma in England and Wales because it does not consider it to be

    BioSpace.com Featured News and Stories 2010

  • By targeting IgE, omalizumab can prevent the onset of debilitating symptoms, such as shortness of breath and wheezing, in severely affected patients.

    BioSpace.com Featured News and Stories 2010

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