Could peanut allergy be combatted with help from DBV Technologies?

There are some truly frightening statistics out there concerning the impact of peanut allergies in the western world. Hundreds of people die each year from ingesting peanuts, and thousands are hospitalized. But if DBV Technologies has its way, this need no longer be the case. If you browse their website (www.dbv-technologies.com/en), you can see that this medical research company has been working on solutions to some of the most widespread allergies on the planet. There’s a specific page dedicated to peanut allergy and the solution that could be its nemesis at https://www.dbv-technologies.com/en/viaskin-products/viaskin-peanut.

Source: http://www.dbv-technologies.com

Known as the Viaskin patch, this is an adhesive patch that’s worn on the patient’s skin. It contains very small amounts of peanut antigens which are sprayed onto the patch’s backing by the electrospray that’s shown in the image below. When placed on the skin, these antigens are resolubilized via a ‘condensation chamber’ effect and penetrate the epidermis and the Langerhans cells located there. This is the ideal place to start the process of tolerization, as the Langerhans cells are amongst the most tolerogenic cells in the entire human body.