Babies offered peanut allergy treatment program under world-first national model

Published

Wednesday, July 31, 2024 - 12:01 PM

Babies with peanut allergies in Australia will be offered a treatment program under a world-first model aiming to transform allergy care.

Ten paediatric hospitals across five states have partnered with the National Allergy Centre of Excellence (NACE), hosted at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), to be the first globally to introduce a nation-wide peanut oral immunotherapy (OIT) program into mainstream care.

The ADAPT OIT Program aims to change the way the most common food allergy among Australian school-aged children is treated from strictly avoiding peanut in diets to safely building a tolerance to the allergen and hopefully achieving remission.

The free program is only available to children under 12 months, diagnosed with peanut allergy, and who are receiving care by an allergist at one of the participating hospitals. The program capacity at each hospital will depend on demand and resources. Those eligible will follow a carefully planned daily dosing schedule of peanut powder, taken at home, over two years.

Professor Kirsten Perrett, Director of the NACE, Paediatric Allergist and Leader of MCRI’s Population Allergy Group, said unlike OIT clinical trials, the treatment would be offered as a new standardised model of care. This will be the first peanut allergy treatment program offered in Australian hospitals outside of a clinical trial setting.

“Oral immunotherapy is being variably implemented around the world using different approaches making it difficult to assess the results, including the long-term outcomes for children, their families and the health system,” Professor Perrett, Head of the ADAPT OIT Program, said.

“Under this Australia-wide model, a food allergy test at the end of the treatment will help determine if remission was achieved. These children will then be followed in routine clinical care for at least 12 months to help us evaluate the acceptability, safety and effectiveness, quality of life and long-term outcomes.

“Ultimately, we want to change the trajectory of allergic disease in Australia so that more children can go to school without the risk of a life-threatening peanut reaction.”

The NACE, which is funded by the Federal Government, will lead an evaluation study to analyse the program’s results. If successful, it’s hoped more hospitals and private allergy clinics will then adopt the program, including in regional and remote areas.

Assistant Minister for Health Ged Kearney said: “The Albanese Labor Government is funding life changing medical research to save lives while building capacity and capability, which is so critical in allergy research.

“Today’s announcement is a big step forward towards combating life threatening peanut allergies in babies.

“This new model of care might be the game changer we have all wanted to stop this terrible allergy in its tracks.”

Read the full story on the NACE website