An experimental drug derived from peanuts protected some children and adolescents with life-threatening peanut allergies, according to a study, allowing the subjects to eat small amounts of peanuts without suffering a serious reaction.
The drug, from a small California company, Aimmune Therapeutics, didn’t work for everyone, has some side effects and hasn’t been approved by regulators for sale. Yet the findings from the late-stage trial promise a potential new solution for peanut allergies, a growing concern.
Peanut allergies have emerged as a life-threatening peril for many parents, forcing them to pore over ingredients for any signs of peanuts and to equip their children — and their children’s schools — with devices to help with sudden and unexpected allergic reactions.
The incidence of peanut allergies in children has risen 21% in the U.S. since 2010, according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, a medical society. Nearly 2.5% of children in the U.S. may have a peanut allergy. Yet there isn’t an approved medicine that can prevent the allergy attacks. Instead, doctors have for years advised that children avoid peanuts altogether, not an easy task. And those with the allergies carry emergency epinephrine shots in case of an accidental exposure.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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