Welcome to our April research update! Getting involved with research is an important way to impact food allergy treatments, education, and awareness.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) and its food allergy division Kids with Food Allergies (KFA) work with doctors, researchers, patients, caregivers, public health, and government agencies to conduct and support research that is important to people affected by asthma and allergies.

Here are current research opportunities you can get involved in as a person with asthma or allergies (or as a caregiver for someone with asthma and allergies):

Surveys

Share Your Experiences with Food Allergies

AAFA is collaborating on a survey with researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital. We are looking to better understand the experiences of children and teens living with food allergies and their caregivers. You can help by taking a 10-minute online survey about your family’s life with food allergies. The results will help us create resources to improve daily life for people with food allergies and their caregivers.

SURVEY FOR CAREGIVERS

SURVEY FOR TEENS

Latest News on Food Allergies, Asthma, and Other Allergic Conditions

ARS Pharmaceuticals Announces FDA Advisory Committee for neffy® for the Treatment of Allergic Reactions (Type 1), Including Anaphylaxis
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is holding an advisory committee meeting on May 11, 2023, to review a new type of medicine for treating allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. This medicine, called neffy, is a non-injectable nasal spray for epinephrine. The meeting will give experts the chance to review the medicine and its potential benefits. If approved, neffy could provide a safe and effective option for people who are reluctant to use injectable epinephrine devices.

Allergy Therapeutics Doses First Patients With Peanut Allergy Vaccine
Biotech company Allergy Therapeutics has started testing a new vaccine for peanut allergy, called VLP Peanut. VLP Peanut uses special technology to make the peanut allergen look like a harmless virus to the body's immune system. The medicine is being tested through the PROTECT study. The study will help determine if the vaccine is safe, if people can tolerate it, and if it works to reduce peanut allergies in both healthy and allergic adults. If the medicine works, it could be a new solution for people who are allergic to peanuts.

DBV Technologies Outlines Regulatory Path for Viaskin Peanut in Children 1 to 3 Years After Receiving Pre-BLA Responses from FDA
DBV Technologies has received feedback from the FDA on their Viaskin Peanut patch. Viaskin Peanut is being tested to treat peanut allergies in children aged 1 to 3 years old with confirmed peanut allergy. The FDA provided positive feedback on the results of the EPITOPE trial but requested another study to continue testing the safety of the patch in young children. The new study will test the patch on 600 kids 1 to 3 years old. They also plan to test how easy the patch is to to use to make sure it is a safe and convenient treatment option.

Claritin® Takes Aim at Reducing Pollen Levels Through Fruit-, Seed-, and Nut-Bearing TreeTree Planting Initiative
Many tree species have separate trees that produce pollen and those that produce fruit, seeds, or nuts. In a new initiative, Claritin has launched a new project called DiversiTree™ to help fight rising pollen levels by planting more trees that produce fruit, seeds, or nuts. The project kicked off with tree planting events in two cities ranked by AAFA’s Allergy Capitals™ report as some of the most challenging places to live with allergies - New Orleans, Louisiana, and Richmond, Virginia. The project will also conduct a study to look at the impact of planting low-pollen trees over the next 50 years.