The Global Food Allergy Prevention Summit brings together international leaders in food allergy research to discuss the future of food allergy prevention. This year Dr. Sharon Chinthrajah discussed the use of biologics for the treatment and prevention of food allergy. Mechanistic studies from the Sean N. Parker Center on the use of omalizumab for the treatment of food allergy have demonstrated that omalizumab treatment prior to the initiation of oral immunotherapy decreases GPR15+ immune populations including naïve γδT and Th2 EM cells. These findings provide some mechanistic explanations for the ability of omalizumab to facilitate desensitization (ability to ingest food allergens without allergic reactions) and sustained unresponsiveness (long-term desensitization without continued oral immunotherapy dosing) in 83% and 55% or oral immunotherapy participants respectively in the MAP-X and M-TAX clinical trials.

Further clinical trials such as the OUtMATCH clinical trial led by the Sean N. Parker Center and the BOOM clinical trial in Canada are continuing to investigate the use of omalizumab for the simultaneous treatment of multiple food allergies. Furthermore additional biologics are being studied to provide additional treatment strategies. Exposure of food allergens to areas of the skin with barrier defects promotes allergic sensitization. The anti- IL-4 receptor α antibody dupilumab has been shown to reduce inflammation and colonization of pathogenic bacteria, suggesting a role of dupilumab in food allergy prevention. In addition, several ongoing clinical trials are investigating the use of dupilumab for food allergy treatment as well including the MAGIC and COMBINE clinical trials at the Sean N. Parker Center which study the use of dupilumab in milk allergy and the combinatorial use of both omalizumab and dupilumab for the treatment of food allergy.