First-Of-A-Kind Patch Reduces Peanut Allergies In Kids When Placed Onto Skin
A new wearable patch for the skin has grounds for celebration after proving its ability to limit severe reactions in toddlers with peanut allergies.
The Viaskin Peanut patch, developed by biopharmaceutical firm DBV Technologies, builds up a wearer’s response to the groundnut by exposing them to a tiny amount of its protein every day. The wearable contains the peanut protein of about 1/1,000th (0.001%) of a kernel—peanut quantities, so to speak.
The patch is made to be worn each day between the shoulder blades, where the protein will be absorbed into the skin to be carried by the immune cells to other areas of the body. It is designed to “re-educate” the immune system to be more resilient to peanut exposure, says its creators.
At present, the Food and Drug Administration has only approved one peanut allergy treatment, an edible powder called ‘Palforzia’, for eaters ages four to 17. Viaskin, meant for younger children, has undergone a successful clinical trial and is therefore the first to assess a non-oral option for toddlers.
The goal of Viaskin is to help the one in 50 children in the US suffering from peanut allergies to live without the fear of an extreme reaction, and it looks like the experimental patch is coming close to its nutty objective.
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A small-scale, late-stage trial involving over 200 affected kids, aged one to three, revealed that 67% of them were able to tolerate the same amount of peanut protein found in one to four peanuts (300 to 1,000 mg) after applying the patch onto their skin for about 22 hours a day for a year.
On the downside, the study—published in the New England Journal of Medicine—also noted that four toddlers had anaphylaxis, an allergic reaction that comprises symptoms like breathing difficulties, swelling in the throat, dizziness, blue lips, and pale skin. With that said, the responses weren’t deemed to be severe, although three participants still needed to use their EpiPens.
Most side effects manifested in the skin, researchers reported.
Dr Matthew Greenhawt, director of the Food Challenge and Research Unit at Children’s Hospital Colorado and the lead author of the research, told NBC News that the remedy didn’t just increase users’ peanut tolerance but also changed “the nature” of it, in that there were fewer severe reactions.
Chiming in, Dr Pharis Mohideen, chief medical officer at DBV Technologies, said that the point of the peanut patch isn’t to normalize peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches for kids with allergies, but to protect them from accidental exposure and lessen the need to rush them to the emergency room.
Children on the patch who could now tolerate a full kernel wouldn’t be placed at such risk if they consumed snacks labeled with “may contain peanuts,” explained Dr Mohideen, who billed the solution as “absolutely life-changing.”
The patch is also being tested on children ages four to seven and has previously been trialed in adolescents and adults. However, it’s seen its greatest effectiveness in toddlers, since their immunity is more adaptable at their young age.
The company hopes to submit the patch for approval by the FDA, but it has to overcome a few steps first. The agency has said that it wants to review more safety data relating to toddlers and children on Viaskin.
[via NBC News, World Economic Forum, Good Morning America, cover image generated on Midjourney]
