DBV Technologies.com showcases some of the most promising new developments in the field of allergy research. Allergy treatments have been around for years, and many different approaches have been tried out. Injections were employed for many years, but this is painful to the patient, and carries with it a risk of anaphylaxis.
Source: http://www.dbv-technologies.com
The focus, at least as far as DBV-Technologies is concerned, has very much shifted to epicutaneous immunotherapy (http://www.dbv-technologies.com/en/epit). This involves trying to tolerize or ‘desensitize’ allergy sufferers by delivering allergens to their body through the epidermis. This is safer than directly injecting allergens into the bloodstream. The vehicle for this solution is the Viaskin patch (below). The patch carries allergens on its backing (sprayed there using an electrospray). When placed against the skin, a hyper-moisturizing condensation chamber is created between patch and skin, solubilizing the dry active compounds (the allergens). What makes the Viaskin approach so interesting, is the way in which it targets the highly-tolerogenic Langerhans cells, located in the skin. This offers a much less risky way of treating or diagnosing allergies including peanut, cow’s milk protein and hen’s egg.
