An experimental “peanut patch” applied to the skin developed by DBV Technologies has the potential to become the first approved treatment for peanut allergy in toddlers, researchers say.
Results of the late-stage trial involving 362 children ages 1 to 3 who had peanut allergies was published on Wednesday in The New England Journal of Medicine.
In two-thirds of the children, parents applied a patch that delivered peanut protein directly onto the skin every day for a year. The remaining children received an identical-appearing placebo patch.
In children whose allergies were triggered by less than 10 mg of peanut protein (less than one-thousandth of an ounce), the goal was to desensitize them to the point where they could tolerate at least 300 mg, or the equivalent of about one peanut.
In children who could tolerate 10 mg of peanut protein, the goal was to have them be able to consume at least 1,000 mg of peanut protein (about 3 or 4 peanuts) without triggering symptoms.
Overall, those goals were achieved in 67% of children in the peanut patch group, compared with 34% in the placebo group, the researchers reported.
Some of the children may simply have outgrown their allergy during the course of the study, they acknowledged.
Four children (1.6%) had non-severe anaphylactic reactions to the patch itself, including three who were treated with a single dose of epinephrine. Overall, however, allergic reactions and anaphylaxis due to accidental peanut consumption were less frequent in children treated with the patch, according to the report.
The peanut patch results in a higher frequency of desensitization compared with placebo and helps to lessen the likelihood of sever allergic reactions upon accidental exposure, the researchers concluded.
DBV Technologies is also launching a trial of its Viaskin Peanut patch in older children and expects to have results in 2025.
