Research and Innovation
From the first peanut allergy therapy approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to a pipeline of innovations supported by FARE and others, research is poised to deliver breakthrough treatments for food allergies.
Introduction to Food Allergy Treatments
Researchers are investigating exciting new ways to stop food allergy reactions or limit reaction symptoms. Most of the therapies now being studied are allergen-specific, treating individual food allergies with products made from the individual problem food(s). Allergen non-specific therapies are also in development that could be used to treat any individual food allergy or combination of food allergies. Progress is being made to develop both these types of therapies, and both of these approaches may someday be combined to create more effective, better-tolerated treatments.
Food Allergy Treatment Landscape
Hope is on the horizon. Food allergen immunotherapies expose a patient to increasing doses of their problem food protein(s) to desensitize the immune system, that is, train the immune system to be less reactive and tolerate larger doses of allergen. Biologic drugs, which can be used alone or in combination with food allergen immunotherapy, block key steps in allergy pathways to limit or prevent reaction symptoms. Many biologic drugs approved for other uses are now being studied to treat food allergy. Additional new approaches are in earlier stages of drug development.
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Oral Immunotherapy in Practice
Oral immunotherapy (OIT) introduces increasing amounts of an allergen, such as peanuts, to allergic individuals with the goal of increasing the threshold triggering a reaction. An increasing number of allergists are offering OIT around the U.S.
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Clinical Trials
Clinical trials are studies that test if a treatment is safe and effective. Usually conducted at major medical centers, clinical trials are key steps in the approval of new therapies by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
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Epinephrine and Emergency Medication
Epinephrine is the first-line treatment for anaphylaxis, a severe and potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. Epinephrine is a safe and highly-effective medication that can reverse severe allergy symptoms.