You may not have heard of DBV-Technologies before, but that may be about to change. Why? Well, this firm has developed a potentially revolutionary answer to the problem of food allergies.
Christened the epicutaneous immunotherapy method, this consists of a patch that’s applied to the patient’s skin. Other allergy treatments have failed because the risk of them triggering anaphylactic shock was too great. This solution is different in that it doesn’t break the blood-skin barrier, thus massively reducing the likelihood of it causing a severe allergic reaction. A special condensation chamber hydrates the skin, making it easier for the allergens contained in the patch to penetrate the skin and start the process of ‘desensitization’ (making the body tolerant to substances that previously triggered allergic reactions).
This technique can be used to both treat and diagnose allergies, and a number of different patches have been produced, aimed at dealing with different allergies, notably house dust mite, peanut and cow’s milk protein allergies.