Epicutaneous immunotherapy for the treatment of peanut allergy in children and young adults

TLDR: Peanut EPIT administration was safe and associated with a modest treatment response after 52 weeks, with the highest responses among younger children, and when coupled with a high adherence and retention rate and significant changes in immune pathways, supports further investigation of this novel therapy.

Abstract: Background Peanut allergy is common, life-threatening, and without therapeutic options We evaluated peanut epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT) by using Viaskin Peanut for peanut allergy treatment Objective We sought to evaluate the clinical, safety, and immunologic effects of EPIT for the treatment of peanut allergy Methods In this multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, 74 participants with peanut allergy (ages 4-25 years) were treated with placebo (n = 25), Viaskin Peanut 100 μg (VP100; n = 24) or Viaskin Peanut 250 μg (VP250; n = 25; DBV Technologies, Montrouge, France) The primary outcome was treatment success after 52 weeks, which was defined as passing a 5044-mg protein oral food challenge or achieving a 10-fold or greater increase in successfully consumed dose from baseline to week 52 Adverse reactions and mechanistic changes were assessed Results At week 52, treatment success was achieved in 3 (12%) placebo-treated participants, 11 (46%) VP100 participants, and 12 (48%) VP250 participants ( P  = 005 and P  = 003, respectively, compared with placebo; VP100 vs VP250, P  = 48) Median change in successfully consumed doses were 0, 43, and 130 mg of protein in the placebo, VP100, and VP250 groups, respectively (placebo vs VP100, P  = 014; placebo vs VP250, P  = 003) Treatment success was higher among younger children ( P  = 03; age, 4-11 vs >11 years) Overall, 144% of placebo doses and 798% of VP100 and VP250 doses resulted in reactions, predominantly local patch-site and mild reactions ( P  = 003) Increases in peanut-specific IgG 4 levels and IgG 4 /IgE ratios were observed in peanut EPIT-treated participants, along with trends toward reduced basophil activation and peanut-specific T H 2 cytokines Conclusions Peanut EPIT administration was safe and associated with a modest treatment response after 52 weeks, with the highest responses among younger children This, when coupled with a high adherence and retention rate and significant changes in immune pathways, supports further investigation of this novel therapy