Recently, the FDA Allergenic Products Committee voted to approve Aimmune’s drug for reducing the severity of peanut allergies in children and teens. The drug’s brand name is set to be Palforzia and could receive full FDA approval early next year.
What is Palforzia? It is the brand name of a drug currently seeking FDA approval. The medication is comprised of peanut flour, given at increasing doses. The initial phase of this medication includes building a tolerance and can take up to six months, after which a maintenance dose will likely be required for a lifetime.
There are a few important things we want our patients to understand about this medication:
- This drug in no way is a cure for peanut allergies. This drug has been developed to lessen the severity of peanut allergies, but not cure the allergy overall.
- This drug will be considered to be a lifelong treatment drug. Missing or skipping doses could result in serious and potentially life threatening reactions.
- Treatment of this drug will greatly impact the family’s life and limit extracurricular activities and participation in sports. Patients will be required to maintain a regular schedule with daily dosing and the children are required to remain still and resting throughout the dosing process.
- Not all patients with peanut allergies will be candidates. Highly allergic patients will not be considered.
At this time, our practice is not set up to administer and follow the very strict regimen required for administration and reaction management. Patients will require an extensive visit with skin testing, blood testing, and in some cases a challenge to peanut prior to even being able to be considered. In addition, it may be costly as insurance may not cover it.
If you have any questions regarding this drug, feel free to give our office a call. For the time being, we will not be offering Palforzia at Hedberg Allergy. We understand the challenges associated with food allergies and are hopeful research will continue to offer solutions for our patients of all ages.