DBV-Technologies – trying a different tack in the fight against allergies
Different methods have been tried – with varying degrees of success – to combat one of our modern-day medical scourges – allergies. At www.dbv-technologies.com you can see what one European company is doing to reduce the negative impact certain allergies have on so many people’s lives.
DBV-Technologies has chosen the specific immunotherapy route to try to alleviate the distress caused by some of our most prevalent allergies, including cow’s milk protein and peanut allergies. Specific immunotherapy involves administering gradually increasing doses of antigens to patients with a view to ‘de-sensitizing’ their body’s immune system to specific allergens.
Various ways have been developed to deliver the antigens to patients’ bodies, but DBV-Technologies think that their new patch-based approach may be a winner. The Viaskin® patch exists in several variants – house dust mite, cow’s milk protein and peanut. The basic design, however, remains the same – a condensation chamber containing antigens in powder form. This special chamber also hydrates the skin, enabling the antigens to pass through the skin and into the bloodstream. Antigen quantities can be easily and accurately regulated and the patch may be removed at any time.