AAAAI: Omalizumab Superior to Placebo for Those With Multiple Food Allergies

MONDAY, Feb. 26, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Omalizumab treatment for 16 weeks is superior to placebo for increasing the reaction threshold for peanut and other food allergens among persons with multiple food allergies, according to a study published online Feb. 25 in the New England Journal of Medicine to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, held from Feb. 23 to 26 in Washington, D.C.

Robert A. Wood, M.D., from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, and colleagues examined whether omalizumab would be effective and safe as monotherapy for patients with multiple food allergies. Individuals aged 1 to 55 years who were allergic to peanuts and at least two other trial-specified foods were screened; 180 were then randomly assigned to receive either omalizumab or placebo administered subcutaneously every two to four weeks for 16 to 20 weeks (118 and 59 participants, respectively).

The researchers found that 67 and 7 percent of participants receiving omalizumab and placebo, respectively, met the primary end-point criteria (ingestion of peanut protein in a single dose of 600 mg or more without dose-limiting symptoms). Results of the key secondary end points (consumption of cashew, milk, and egg in single doses of at least 1,000 mg each without dose-limiting symptoms) were consistent with those of the primary end point (cashew: 41 versus 3 percent; milk: 66 versus 10 percent; egg: 68 versus 0 percent).

"Omalizumab treatment for 16 weeks was superior to placebo in increasing the reaction threshold for peanut, cashew, egg, and milk," the authors write.

The study was funded by Novartis and Genentech, the manufacturers of omalizumab.

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