United States: Research demonstrates that a third of food-allergic children succeeded in consuming full food servings from their allergic list of foods after receiving treatment with an injectable asthma drug, according to clinical trial results.
More about the news
Omalizumab (Xolair) administered to children for one year allowed 36 percent to eat entire portions of food causing their allergies based on phase 2 trial findings presented at an American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology meeting in San Diego.
The study showed that children received only limited success with omalizumab treatment since they achieved allergy tolerance in food servings in 19 percent of cases during the combined therapy with shorter omalizumab periods and oral immunotherapy sessions, US News reported.
What more did the experts find?
Stage 3 clinical trials conducted on children showed that the participants maintained a degree of protection against food allergies after stopping omalizumab treatment, according to study outcomes reported by researchers.
According to Dr. Robert Wood, the principal investigator and director of the Eudowood Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, “This is the first time we’ve been able to directly compare these two treatments for multiple food allergies, and our study shows omalizumab was superior to oral immunotherapy,” US News reported.
A food allergy affects eight percent (8%) of US children along with ten percent (10%) of adults, based on research reports.
Researchers state in background notes that Omalizumab makes allergic reactions inactive through its ability to bind with antibodies that cause these reactions.
The FDA approved omalizumab for drug release in 2003 when they granted their authorization for preventive use against allergic asthma, according to Drugs.com.
FDA approval for the drug
The FDA approved omalizumab as a food allergy treatment for adults and children starting at 1 year old because of clinical trial results, according to background researcher notes.
The stage 2 clinical trial enrolled 117 children who were 7 years old on average and displayed peanut allergies together with two other major food allergies, including milk and egg or cashew or wheat walnut or hazelnut.
The children received all three allergenic food doses equivalent to 20 peanuts and 0.5 cups of milk at week 44.
Almost 88 percent of the children were given treatment of omalizumab and finished the stage 2 trial of the drug, compared to 51 percent of those getting oral immunotherapy, which showed the results.