Trials show asthma drug helps reduce allergic reactions to certain foods

Read the Full Transcript

• Geoff Bennett:

  There's some relief for the 20-million-plus people in the U.S. who have food allergies, many of whom face severe dangers.

  A new study in "The New England Journal of Medicine" reports that the drug known as Xolair allows people to tolerate higher doses of allergenic foods before developing a reaction after an accidental exposure. The FDA earlier this month expanded approval of Xolair to include treatment for anyone 1 year or older.

  We're joined now by the study's principal investigator, Dr. Robert Wood of the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

  Thanks so much for being with us.

  And we should say that there is no cure for food allergies, but how much of a game changer is this, especially for children?

• Dr. Robert Wood, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center:

  Yes. We have gone from essentially having no treatment for food allergy, literally just telling people to avoid what you're allergic to and carry your emergency medicines if you have an accidental exposure.

  So going from there to here is really an enormous change for the world of food allergy.

• Geoff Bennett:

  And for people with severe food allergies, there's so much fear and anxiety. I know you say you have teenage patients who've never been to a restaurant because their families are concerned about exposure. They don't take trips on airplanes for the same reason.

  How might this improve quality of life for people?

• Dr. Robert Wood:

  Yes, that's really one of the big issues. Reactions happen. They can be really dangerous, but a lot of the burden of having a food allergy does relate to that day-to-day fear of, is this the day that he or she is going to have that accidental exposure at school, and is this the day they're going to die?

  Now, those things are not that common, but the anxiety that people live with is very real and really a daily burden.

• Geoff Bennett:

  How does Xolair work for people with severe food allergies?

• Dr. Robert Wood:

  What it's basically doing is blocking the antibodies that our immune systems make if you're going to develop an allergy.

  And that's called an IgE antibody, and Xolair is called anti-IgE. So it literally acts to bind, to sort of mop up all the IgE in your system so that you're going to be less prone to have a reaction, especially with a small exposure.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Is this a lifelong commitment for people who choose this treatment? And I ask the question, one, because of the cost. The list price is as high as $5,000 a month for adults, typically lower based on insurance, obviously.

  And it's not a really easy drug to take. It's taken by injection every two to four weeks, which might be tough for children who don't like getting shots.

• Dr. Robert Wood:

  Yes, it's not perfect, but the benefits for those people who really need it will certainly outweigh the risks.

  Lifetime or not, it is a medicine that is only going to work while you're on it. So, once you stop the medicine, it will wear off, but people don't necessarily need to be on it for life. Some may choose — and we have had a lot of conversations with patients saying, I'm doing OK right now, but the day I leave for college, I want to be on this medicine because so much of my food will be less under my control.

  They may take it for those four years. They may take it for 10. There may be far better treatments in 10 or 15 years. So it's not a lifetime commitment, by any means.

• Geoff Bennett:

  How safe is it?

• Dr. Robert Wood:

  It's very safe. And one of the neat things about this drug is that it's been approved now for 21 years to treat asthma. So, a lot of the safety as we face with any drug has been sorted out over those 21 years.

  There's a warning on the drug that it could cause an allergic reaction. Some people are actually allergic to the drug itself, but that's a fairly unusual circumstance and we think can be managed just by careful observation.

• Geoff Bennett:

  And, Dr. Wood, lastly, food allergies have been increasing in prevalence over the last 20 years. Do we know exactly why?

• Dr. Robert Wood:

  We do not know exactly why. We have a lot of theories. A lot of them relate back to this thing called the hygiene theory, saying we live in too clean an environment.

  But there are clearly many factors that go into this that may relate to our diet, other things in our environment. And we're still quite a ways away from really understanding this quite incredible rise in the prevalence of food allergy.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Dr. Robert Wood with the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, thanks so much for your time this evening.

• Dr. Robert Wood:

  You're welcome. Thanks.