Advocacy and research – February 2024

Get involved in our advocacy efforts to ensure food allergy is taken seriously. Learn how you can participate in a research opportunity for children with tree nut allergy involving immunotherapies. Plus, check out an easy-to-understand summary of the clinical trial results of a peanut immunotherapy for young children.     

Advocacy in action: Letter to Uber Eats regarding Super Bowl ad – **Update below**

We sent a letter to Uber Eats regarding the portrayal of food allergy in their 2024 Super Bowl commercial titled “Don’t forget Uber Eats”. In the letter, we requested that they edit the commercial to remove the segment of concern.

While the commercial alienates individuals with food allergy, the real harm is reducing the perception of its seriousness in the broader community and reinforcing that it’s okay to make fun of this potentially life-threatening condition. 

**Update as of February 9th**: Uber Eats has responded to our letter and connected with us about their Super Bowl ad. They have confirmed that the clip depicting peanut allergy will be removed. This is great news for the food allergy community! Thanks to everyone who helped to make this happen, together, we are making an impact.

Research study: Call for participation for children with tree nut allergy

A research study is underway in Hamilton, Ontario. The researchers are seeking children aged 1-16 years who have been diagnosed with tree nut allergy, specifically to cashew, pistachio, walnut, pecan, almond, or hazelnut.

The study is testing different immunotherapies to desensitize a person with tree nut allergy by repeated exposures to very small amounts of tree nut through sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) or low-dose oral immunotherapy (IdOIT). SLIT is when a food allergen is placed under the tongue and OIT is when a food allergen is eaten.

Food Allergy Canada is involved in this research through a patient/caregiver partnership where we provide input on the design of the research, review research outcomes, and ensure the patient perspective is considered. 

Following is an announcement from the research team with more details. To learn more about the study and if your child is eligible to participate, complete this form or email eia@mcmaster.ca.

Please share with others whose children have tree nut allergy.

From the research team:

Now enrolling: TRADE study for children with tree nut allergy

Does your child have tree nut allergy and hopes to reduce their reactions to tree nuts? Your child may be eligible for our study to trial treatments for tree nut allergy. TRADE is a randomized trial which uses sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) or low-dose oral immunotherapy (ldOIT) compared with a placebo to assess the ability of different immunotherapies to desensitize tree nut allergy. 

Eligibility criteria:

• Children between 1-16 years old
• Diagnosed with tree nut allergy, specifically cashew, pistachio, walnut, pecan, almond, or hazelnut
• Skin prick test of 3mm or greater or a serum tree nut-specific IgE of greater than 0.35kUA/L
• Other eligibility criteria will apply

Participation in the study involves:

• Taking the study treatment for 52 weeks
• At least 10 study visits to the clinic, which is located in McMaster Children’s Hospital, 1200 Main Street West, Hamilton ON

Potential benefits of this study include:

• Decreasing the participant’s reactivity to tree nuts after accidental ingestion and altering the natural progression of tree nut allergy by modifying the underlying immune response
• The participant may become clinically and immunologically tolerant to the tree nut
• Addressing unmet needs to establish safe tree nut allergy immunotherapy protocols and helping doctors and scientists to better understand food allergy

TRADE is led by Dr. Derek Chu MD PhD FRCPC at McMaster University Hamilton, Ontario and funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Ontario Medical Association, and Hamilton Health Sciences.

To learn more about TRADE and eligibility criteria, please complete this form or email eia@mcmaster.ca.

Research: Easy-to-understand summary of Viaskin Peanut™ clinical trial results

A new summary uses plain language to recap clinical trial results for Viaskin™ Peanut as a treatment option for peanut allergy in children aged 1-3 years. Viaskin Peanut is based on epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT) involving a patch that delivers a small amount of peanut to the immune system through the skin. Results showed the peanut patch may be a possible treatment option to help desensitize young children with peanut allergy to peanut.