Who are the potential patients for omalizumab for food allergy?
Food allergies affect an estimated 8% of the US population and have risen significantly in the past 20 years.1 IgE–mediated reactions to food can range from simple urticaria to life-threatening anaphylaxis. The only treatment was the avoidance of the allergen and treatment of allergic reactions with epinephrine until 2020 when an oral immunotherapy (OIT) product (Palforzia [Stallergenes Greer, Boston, Massachusetts]) was approved for the treatment of peanut allergy.2 There was no approved treatment by the US Food and Drug Administration for other foods or multiple foods until the recent approval of omalizumab for any food allergy for patients aged 1 year or older with the appropriate total IgE and weight.