According to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), nearly 2.5% of all children in the US live with the peanut allergy.

One peanut kernel has about 300 mg of peanut protein, exposure to which can lead to anaphylaxis and even death to a person afflicted with this allergy. According to Dr Steven Tilles, past president of the ACAAI and consulting advisor to the biotech company Aimmune Therapeutics, A new treatment has recently emerged which aims to build up tolerance to peanuts so that people suffering from the peanut allergy can handle accidental exposure ie eating food with a peanut in it.

Dr Tilles and his colleagues reported their clinical findings in The New England Journal of Medicine. The study tested the efficacy of a new oral immunotherapy called AR101 which is a peanut derived oral biologic drug which delivers a target maintenance dose of 300 mg of peanut protein. By the end of the study 80% of the participants successfully reached the daily maintenance dose of 300 mg of peanut protein or one peanut. Moreover 2/3 of the participants were able to tolerate 2 peanuts per day after 9-12 mos of treatment and half tolerated the equivalent of 4 peanuts.

Dr Jay Lieberman, vice chair of the ACAAI Food Allergy Committee and one of the study's authors claims that very soon the FDA will review this treatment and it may be available in the second half of 2019.

Reference:

N Engl J Med 2018; 379:1991-2001 November 22, 2018 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1812856