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Viaskin peanut patch safe, well-tolerated in young children

The Viaskin peanut patch was well-tolerated and safe for young children with a peanut allergy, according to findings presented at the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology annual meeting.

“Daily epicutaneous immunotherapy with Viaskin peanut patch has been shown to be superior to placebo in desensitizing peanut-allergic children aged 4 years,” David M. Fleischer, MD, of Children’s Hospital in Colorado, and colleagues wrote. “Viaskin peanut patch has not been investigated previously in children aged < 4 years.”

To assess the safety and efficacy of the Viaskin peanut patch (DBV Technologies), researchers conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial of 51 children aged between 1 and 3 years with a peanut allergy, which was defined as having serum peanut-specific immunoglobulin E of more than 0.7 kU/L, peanut skin prick test largest wheal diameter of 6 mm or more, and reaction on food challenge to an eliciting dose of 300 mg or less of peanut protein (mean IgE at entry, 86.3 kU/L; mean peanut skin prick test largest wheal diameter, 13.6 mm).

Participants were randomized to 100 µg or 250 µg of Viaskin peanut patch or placebo.

Researchers concluded that, based on a Recent Data and Safety Monitoring Board evaluation, both doses of Viaskin peanut patch were safe and well-tolerated.

In addition, they found that 82% of participants had been previously diagnosed with a food allergy other than peanut. Also, 94% of the patients reported atopic dermatitis, 37% reported allergic rhinitis and 20% reported asthma/bronchial hyperactivity/wheezing. Researchers reported that the mean age at time of diagnosis was 1.05 years.

“Age at diagnosis highlights the need for peanut allergy treatment in younger children,” the researchers wrote. “Consistent with studies in older children, peanut-allergic subjects in this epicutaneous immunotherapy clinical trial are highly atopic.” – by Melissa J. Webb

Reference: Fleischer DM, et al. Epicutaneous immunotherapy for peanut allergy in young children. Presented at: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Annual Scientific Meeting; Feb. 22-25, 2019; San Francisco.

Disclosures: Healio Primary Care Today was unable to determine the authors’ relevant financial disclosures prior to publication.