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Leveraging learnings from the Low dose Multi-Nut Oral immunotherapy in Pre-schoolers (LMNOP) Pilot Trial to reduce food allergy burden.

AIFA DBV Technologies Food Allergy Research Grant 

Dr Tim Brettig

Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), Melbourne

Research team: Prof Kirsten Perrett, A/Prof Rachel Peters, Dr Vicki McWilliam (MCRI) 

Dr Tim BrettigThe 2020 bipartisan Federal Government Inquiry into Allergies and Anaphylaxis recommended the provision of safe and effective treatments for food allergy is a health priority1. Oral immunotherapy (OIT) is a form of food allergy treatment, shown to improve the outcomes for people living with food allergy2.

In Australia, OIT is undergoing translation into clinical practice with the National Allergy Centre of Excellence (NACE) ADAPT OIT Program (ADAPT: from Allergy Development to an Accelerated Pathway to Tolerance) currently being implemented for children under 18 months of age with peanut allergy in several public hospitals.

There is a lack of evidence using randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for evaluation of tree nut OIT, and to date there is only one overseas study describing OIT for multiple simultaneous nut OIT3. Given the progression of peanut OIT as a treatment option in Australia, the LMNOP (low-dose multiple nut oral immunotherapy program) pilot outcomes will provide crucial evidence for feasibility, acceptability, tolerability and compliance of multiple-nut OIT. AIFA funding will support the analysis of these outcomes and, if successful, direct translation and implementation into routine clinical care. As an expansion of the NACE ADAPT OIT Program, Australian infants with multiple-food allergy could then be treated with multiple-nut OIT, enabling the possibility of enhanced life-changing individual benefit and reduced health-care burden.

AIFA acknowledges the support of DBV Technologies for this Food Allergy Research Grant of $15,000

References:

  1. Walking the allergy tightrope: addressing the rise of allergies and anaphylaxis in Australia 2020 [2023 Mar 12]. Available from: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/House/Health_Aged_Care_and_Sport/Allergiesandanaphylaxis/Report
  2. Epstein-Rigbi N, Goldberg MR, Levy MB, Nachshon L, Elizur A. Quality of Life of Food-Allergic Patients Before, During, and After Oral Immunotherapy. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2019;7(2):429-36.e2.
  3. Erdle SC, Cook VE, Cameron SB, Yeung J, Kapur S, McHenry M, et al. Real-World Safety Analysis of Preschool Tree Nut Oral Immunotherapy. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2023;11(4):1177-83.