UNC one of 10 sites hosting trial research on new food allergy drug

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- The FDA has approved the use of omalizumab, marketed as Xolair, to treat severe reactions from food allergies.

"Even in the most perfect cases, something might happen. You go to school, you read a label wrong, the restaurant doesn't label something. So that helpless feeling of waiting for something bad to happen is so difficult for families as well as people with food allergies. The hope here is that this treatment, when you're on this, it will give you that buffer of protection," said Dr. Edwin Kim, Director of the UNC Food Allergy Initiative.

UNC was one of 10 sites that is hosting a trial researching the drug's effect on patients, which started in 2019.

"In the case of a peanut, less than probably 1/3 of one peanut kernel was the amount of food that could trigger a reaction before they started the treatment. And by the end of the treatment, many of the patients were able to eat 10 peanuts without having any symptoms at all," said Kim.

All 24 participants in UNC's trial were children, though adults participated at other locations. Each participant was allergic to peanuts and at least one other food. The injectable medicine is taken every two or four weeks and approved for use in people who are at least a year old.

"This is very much a preventative medicine. The idea would be if the smallest amount of peanuts make you sick, on this medicine it would increase that 10 or even 20 times as much, so in case you have that accidental exposure, you have that big, big buffer," said Kim.

According to FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education), 33 million Americans have food allergies. Amongst that group, more than half of adults and more than 40% of children with food allergies have experienced a severe reaction.

The drug is not for use in emergencies, and people should continue to take cautions including reviewing food labels and informing food handlers of allergies.

Though the FDA approval for the use of the drug is new, it has been on the market for years to treat asthma and hives.

"It's a medicine that people are very familiar with," said Kim.