FDA approves drug to help protect against food allergies—including milk, eggs and nuts

Having an allergic kid is not something I would wish on my worst enemy. It’s scary sending them to school and not knowing if they’ll accidentally come in contact with a type of food that could send them to the hospital—or potentially worse. While most parents with allergic kids send their children to school with an epi pen in hand, there’s a newly approved drug out there that can add an extra layer of protection to keep people safe around multiple food allergies. And parents of allergic kids everywhere breathe a huge sigh of relief.

Just over 6% of people in the U.S., including 6% of kids, have a food allergy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 40% of kids who have food allergies have a reaction to more than one food, according to a study in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, reported NBC News.

According to the publication’s report, there was only one drug on the market for years to protect against “acute allergic reactions to food.” But Palforzia only works for peanuts. The drug Xolair, which was originally prescribed for chronic hives and allergic asthma, can also protect against allergic reactions to food, according to recent studies.

In Feb. 2024, the FDA approved Xolair for kids and adults with certain food allergies, based on this clinical trial.

The trial included 180 participants across 10 U.S. hospitals of patients allergic to peanuts and at least two of the following foods: cashews, milk, eggs, walnuts, wheat or hazelnuts, NBC News reported. The participants varied in age, from 1 year old to 55 years old. “About 40% were younger than 6 and most were younger than 18—and 118 of them received a monthly or biweekly dose of Xolair,” per the news outlet. Out of the participants, 118 of them received a monthly or biweekly dose of Xolair, while the rest had a placebo. 

“By the end of the initial four-month period, about 80% of people who got the drug were able to eat small amounts of one of the foods they were allergic to without triggering their normal reaction,” according to NBC News.

While this drug is good news for people with food allergies, it’s meant to prevent reactions to small accidental exposures, and not allow people to “indulge” in eating these foods, according to the news outlet.

It’s important to note, however, Xolair only works for people who have “Type 1 food allergies.” This means a person with Type 1 food allergies always produces IgE antibodies—antibodies produced by the immune system, which overreact to allergens—when they are exposed to the food they are allergic to, per NBC News.

Senior study author Dr. Sharon Chinthrajah, an associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at and acting director of the Sean Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research at Stanford University told NBC News that while Xolair is certainly helpful, it’s not a cure.

“This therapy offers injections and offers an umbrella, a safety protection, to go out and live your lives normally to not be as afraid of accidental exposures and everyday living,” Dr. Chinthrajah said. Parents, still send your kids with their epi pens just in case, but this drug can add an extra layer of protection from accidental contact with food allergens.