Birmingham, AL (WBMA) — A well known drug has just been approved by the Federal Drug and Administration (FDA) to help protect people from food allergies during an accidental exposure.
The drug, known as Xolair (omalizumab) was originally approved in 2003 for the treatment of moderate to severe persistent allergic asthma in certain patients. Xolair is also approved to treat chronic spontaneous urticaria and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps in certain patients.
The recent FDA approval of the drug does not serve as a cure for the food allergy, but is instead an extra layer of protection when accidental exposure occurs. This will allow a person to tolerate a small amount of the allergen without having an allergic reaction. The drug was approved for children and adults.
Amy Cajacob, an expert with allergy and immunology with Childrens of Alabama, believes this could especially be a game changer for children. Her average patient has anywhere between 1-3accidental exposures per year
“Maybe in daycare at school. Maybe its a peanut and a well meaning friend wants to share their cookie with their friend but doesn’t know there’s a peanut in it or even a slight cross contamination,” said Cajacob, “It blocks IEG let’s just say it’s our allergy antibody and it’s really what kind of help leads to an allergic reaction. And so it helps kind of block that pathway”
The injection is directed to be taken by a person every two to four weeks. It would be administered in a hospital setting for the first few doses and then could be administered at home.
Cajacob does not expect supply of the drug to be an issue since it is already on the market for other uses. Right now she says the drug is covered by many insurances with an approval process.
“Certainly insurances is approving this for other indications,” said Cajacob, “There’s an approval process. You have to demonstrate that you are doing the other baseline things first. So you do need to be strictly avoiding that food. You need to have your epinephrine auto injectors.”
The drug is not available over the counter. A person needs to reach out to their doctor for more information.