HAL Allergy: An asset to Bio Science Park

HAL Allergy, one of Europe's leading anti-allergy vaccine producers, has opened its new head office at the Bio Science Park in Leiden. During the official opening the company's supervisory board unveiled the company's plans to invest millions of euros in new products and research during the next five years.

Leiden's mayor, H. Lenferink, described the company as an asset to the Bio Science Park, which has grown to be the biggest and most important in Europe. Some sixty life science companies and six knowledge institutes, including TNO and TI Pharma, work there in partnership with Leiden University and Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC). "HAL Allergy is a good catch for Leiden, and could help us continue to expand the Bio Science Park", said the mayor. 

HAL Allergy was founded fifty years ago as 'Haarlems Allergenen Laboratorium'. The company now employs some 300 people, and has establishments and partnerships in sixteen countries. In Europe the company works with 13,000 doctors and specialists each year.

Recent years have seen a sharp rise in the number of Dutch people receiving treatment for allergy symptoms by means of immunotherapy or an allergy vaccine. HAL Allergy has noted a 15 to 20 percent rise in the number of patients receiving these treatments from specialists, and its own turnover has increased accordingly. HAL Allergy had grown to the extent that it needed to find new premises, and chose the Bio Science Park for its research and partnership opportunities in the field of biotechnology.

According to H. Flore, who was formally appointed as the company's new Chief Executive Officer during the opening, the new head office and production facility called for a substantial investment, but offers a solid foundation that the company can build on in the years to come.

The number of people suffering from allergies is increasing all over the world. For example more than one and a half million Dutch people suffer from hay fever. Worldwide, 1.3 billion people have allergy symptoms, most of them in Western countries.

Most major pharmaceutical companies concentrate on medicines that suppress allergy symptoms, such as antihistamines for itching, sneezing or shortness of breath. HAL Allergy tackles the causes, correcting the immune system so that allergy symptoms are sharply reduced or even completely eliminated.

The company's vaccines are used for allergen-specific immunotherapy, focusing mainly on allergic reactions caused by pollen, animal skin cells, house mite droppings, fungus spores and wasp and bee stings. Vaccinating patients trains their immune system. This 'desensitization therapy' takes an average of three years. After that period the immune system has adapted to the allergens.

For more information: www.hal-allergy.com