The Viaskin Peanut is a tiny skin patch that may help treat peanut allergies. Find out everything you need to know about how the Viaskin Peanut skin patch works today.
What is Viaskin Peanut?
Viaskin Peanut is a skin patch that promises to be a new way to treat peanut allergies. The so-called “peanut patch” has recently gone through clinical testing to confirm its effectiveness.
In one study funded by DBV Technologies, 221 peanut-allergic individuals were tested using the 50 mcg, 100 mcg, or 250 mcg peanut patch (or placebo doses) for one year. Patients were given peanuts orally before and after the test to determine their allergic reactivity.
By the end of the year, patients treated with the 250mcg patch were able to tolerate at least 1 gram of peanut protein – equivalent to about 4 peanuts. That’s 10 times the dose that these patients tolerated at the beginning of the oral peanut challenge.
How Does It Work?
Viaskin Peanut works as a epicutaneous immunotherapy skin patch, also known as EPIT or allergy patches.
Essentially, the skin patch delivers a small dose of peanut proteins to the patients through the skin patch.
That skin patch delivers trace amounts of peanut proteins into the skin every 24 hours. Once the skin patch is used up, you replace it. Participants in this latest study replaced the skin patch every 24 hours for one full year.
By wearing the patch for a year, patients allow their bodies to grow a tolerance towards a larger and larger dosage of peanut proteins. As mentioned above, patients wearing the 250mcg skin patch were able to tolerate 10 times the amount of peanut proteins they had previously tolerated.
In fact, some of the children involved in the study using the 250 mcg patch experienced a 19 fold increase in peanut-specific IgG4 levels. IgG4 is the antibody associated with protection following immunotherapy.
The lead researcher on the study added that there were few adverse symptoms:
“EPIT appears safe, well tolerated and effective. That’s good news for families who suffer from food allergies.”
Compliance in the study was over 95% and fewer than 1% of participants dropped out of the study due to adverse symptoms.
The full study was published last week in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
No Drugs Have Ever Been Approved by the FDA to Treat Peanut Allergies
Why is the internet buzzing about Viaskin Peanut? It’s because the FDA has never approved a treatment for life-threatening peanut allergies.
However, that might soon change, as Viaskin Peanut continues to impress in its early trials.
People are also excited about Viaskin Peanut because it’s an alternative to conventional allergy treatments. Epipens, for example, which just went through a 600% price hike, are no longer an affordable option for many families.
There Are Side Effects in 80% of Participants
About 80% of participants in the Viaskin Peanut study received rashes underneath the patch. However, only one person withdrew because of skin irritation.
Overall, the adherence rate for the study was very high. Children between ages 4 and 11 responded particularly well to the therapy. 97% of participants across all treatment groups stayed with the study, following the instructions and replacing the patches every 24 hours.
Who Makes Viaskin Peanut?
Viaskin Peanut is made by a French company named DBV Technologies.
The official DBV Technologies website describes how the company is “committed to finding a safe, effective, and patient-friendly therapy for food and pediatric allergy patients.”
DBV Technologies was founded in 2002. Its Viaskin patch is patented worldwide. The company doesn’t just make the Viaskin Peanut patch: they’re also making a Viaskin patch for other food allergies – including milk. The Viaskin milk patch is also going through the early stages of testing. It completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial at the end of 2014.
Viaskin is headquartered in Paris, France. Their US offices are in New York City.
Viaskin Peanut Patch Review Summary
An estimated 3.2 million Americans are allergic to peanuts. Peanut allergies are particularly devastating, as even trace amounts of peanuts can cause devastating effects – like anaphylactic shock and death. This latest Viaskin Peanut skin patch has the potential to change the lives of people all over the world.
Stay tuned for more information about the Viaskin Peanut skin patch as it gets closer to a worldwide release.
