FDA approves drug for peanut allergy treatment

Peanut allergies are one of the most common food allergies affecting the children in the US, leading to anaphylaxis, hives, difficulty in breathing, cardiac arrest, etc. Epinephrine and antihistamines are used to treat these symptoms which if left uncared for can prove to be fatal. In a recent event on Friday, the country’s Food and Drug Administration voted in favour for the testing of a new drug which is said to lower these symptoms in children aged from four to seventeen.

The drug called Palforzia has been submitted for a Phase 3 trial. It has been found that during the course of the treatment, the test subjects were able to eat around 2 peanuts without any adverse effects. The side effects that have been found for the drug include hives, shortness of breath, pain, and stomach upsets. About 9% of the test subjects were required to drop out of their trial as their symptoms were so severe.

"We are very pleased that the FDA Allergenic Products Advisory Committee has voted in support of Palforzia. This recommendation recognizes the urgent need for patients to have a treatment option for their potentially life-threatening allergy." Said Jayson Dallas, the CEO of a pharmaceutical company called Aimmune Therapeutics. This new drug could change the face of anti-allergy medicines and provide a further concrete cure for food related allergies.