Omalizumab

Omalizumab (trade name Xolair, Roche/Genentech and Novartis) is a humanized antibody approved for patients 12 years and older with moderate to severe allergic asthma in the United States and with severe, persistent allergic asthma in many other countries. It has also been approved for pediatric patients 6 to 11 years old with severe, persistent allergic asthma in the European Union. Omalizumab's cost is high, ranging from $6,000 to $24,000 a year and hence omalizumab is mainly prescribed for patients with severe, persistent asthma, which cannot be controlled even with high doses of corticosteroids.