Have you ever heard of Xolair? This medication, used since 2003 as a treatment for asthma, has shown its effectiveness in preventing allergic food reactions. This is what reveals a study carried out on 177 children aged 1 to 17, funded by the US Department of Health and published Sunday February 25 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Patients who received regular injections over sixteen weeks of omalizumab – the scientific name of Xolair – indeed show better tolerance to food products such as peanuts, nuts, eggs, milk and wheat, explains the American medical journal. In total, 67% of them tolerated a dose of 600 milligrams of peanuts, compared to only 7% of those who received the placebo.
FDA gives green light
This study shows that such treatment “can significantly reduce the occurrence of allergic reactions to several foods in the event of accidental exposure,” rejoices Robert A. Wood, principal author of the study, in a press release. distributed by Roche. The Swiss pharmaceutical giant owns the Californian laboratory Genentech and co-distributes Xolair with Novartis in the United States.
Faced with the conclusive results of the study, the FDA gave the green light on February 16 for the use of Xolair as part of a treatment against food allergies in adults and children over 1 year old. . “Food allergies are a growing concern for food safety and public health” in the United States, we can read on the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Preventative treatment
And for good reason, these concern almost 2% of adults and “between 4 and 8%” of children across the Atlantic. This is less than in France, where around 3% of the population is affected by at least one food allergy, according to the Ministry of Health.
The fact remains that in the United States, food allergies are the cause of some 30,000 emergency room visits and cause nearly 150 deaths each year, according to figures from health authorities. Reason why the American drug policeman remains cautious.
Because, although encouraging, these results should not suggest that beneficiaries could resume consuming allergens to which they are sensitive. And to recall the No. 1 objective of the operation: to reduce the allergic reaction in the event of accidental ingestion.