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Allergies, especially increasingly common ones like peanut allergies, are more and more or a problem not.
Peanut allergies are now so prolific—affecting 1.5 million children—that some children with peanut allergies can’t even be in the same room as a peanut.
There could be hope. There’s a patch—now in phase 3 clinical trials (the last needed before the FDA evaluates it)—that promises to counter these extreme allergic reactions.
DBV Technologies, a French biotechnology company that created the patch, describes it as “epicutaneous immunotherapy.” This just means the drug is delivered through the skin, and targets the immune system. DBV will be the first company to use this kind of immunotherapy.
So how does it work?
The inside of the patch is sprayed with peanut protein. When applied, the protein goes through the skin to the immune system. This means the peanut protein never enters the blood stream, which could cause a reaction.
The idea is that when worn daily for a year, it could be possible for those with peanut allergies to eat a small amount of peanuts, about a handful.
It still isn’t a lot of peanuts, but it’s a step up from being unable to even ingest one tenth of a peanut.
The only other method of allergy treatment is desensitization, which requires those affected by allergies to gradually introduce the allergen to their system. Of course, this is much riskeir, and can cause even worse allergic reactions.
This patch would be “a new method of immunotherapy,” according to DBV’s CEO, and the company hopes to make patches for other allergies too, such as allergies to milk and eggs.
