https://www.foodallergy.org/press-room/2014/090814Food Allergy Research & Education awards grant to leading immunologist
McLean, Va. (September 8, 2014) – Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) announced today that it has awarded a research grant totaling $734,986 to a leading immunologist at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine/Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center who is developing an innovative therapeutic approach that would rapidly and safely suppress food allergies. If successful, this treatment could be applied to all food allergies, from the “top eight” (peanut, tree nuts, milk, egg, fish, shellfish, wheat and soy) to less common food allergies. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a division of the National Institutes of Health, is providing an additional grant of $1.3 million for a complementary study of this promising treatment.
Immunologist and grant recipient Fred Finkelman, M.D., has developed a therapy that could be especially beneficial to individuals with difficult-to-treat multiple food allergies, since it would allow physicians to desensitize these patients to all of their allergens at the same time. Of the 5.9 million U.S. children with food allergies, more than 30 percent are allergic to more than one food. These patients are more likely to experience anaphylaxis – a severe, potentially fatal reaction – than people with a single food allergy.
Finkelman and his team have developed a unique monoclonal antibody – an antibody grown in the laboratory – that targets and deactivates mast cells, which play a key role in allergic reactions. Special receptors on the surface of mast cells allow them to bind to IgE, the “bad” antibody responsible for food allergy. When a person with food allergy eats the wrong food, the IgE-primed mast cells attack the allergen, releasing chemicals that cause the symptoms of an allergic reaction. The monoclonal antibody removes both the IgE and IgE receptors on mast cells, making them harmless.
In a previous study, Finkelman’s team injected mice with this monoclonal antibody and showed that the treatment prevented anaphylaxis. Now, the researchers will continue their work in mouse models, with the goal of adapting this approach to humans over the next several years. They aim to develop a safe therapy that would rapidly desensitize patients to food allergens – possibly within 24 hours. The treatment would be administered by injection. To add an extra layer of safety, the researchers are refining a mixture of medications that would be combined with this therapy to help protect against severe reactions during the desensitization process.
“As the world’s largest private source of funding for food allergy research, FARE is committed to supporting the development of safe, effective treatments that will protect all individuals with food allergies from life-threatening reactions,” said James R. Baker, Jr., MD, Interim CEO of FARE. “FARE’s strategic plan for research calls for us to develop a robust pipeline of potential therapies, and Dr. Finkelman’s study pursues a new approach that, if successful, could transform the lives of millions of individuals living with food allergies.”
FARE funds basic and clinical studies conducted by researchers at every stage of their career, from promising young investigators to distinguished scientists such as Dr. Finkelman. Over the past 20 years, Finkelman has been one of the most-cited researchers in the field of immunology. If his FARE-funded study is successful, the next step will be testing in a primate model, which could lead to a Phase 1 clinical trial in humans.
Read an interview with Dr. Finkelman on FARE's blog.
Topic: New Study Aims for Quick Suppression of Food Allergies (Read 1310 times)
