Company working to create peanut allergy alleviating toothpaste

The company Intommune Therapeutics is working to create a toothpaste that will help relieve peanut allergies, they are currently in phase one of their clinical trials.

The way it works is by exposing the consumer to light doses of the allergen daily through oral intake to form a tolerance towards it, the toothpaste company will not be a cure to peanut allergies as it seems though.

According to David Zarley, a reporter for FreeThink, The idea for this is based off of pre-existing treatments for those with food allergies such as oral immunotherapy. The person being treated with immunotherapy takes small daily doses of the consumer’s allergen, one way is small doses of the actual food they’re allergic to, though this is riskier as the allergen has not been altered for intake. Another oral immunotherapy treatment is taking in the allergen via tablets.

Zarley also says that besides these two treatments, there is also one which is known by the name of sublingual immunotherapy. This is where the small dose of allergen is received through liquid drops that go underneath the consumer’s tongue. The treatment that Intommune Therapeutics plan to use is oral intake via toothpaste.

Student Madalyn Rutch’s mother has an allergy to peanuts, Rutch says that her mom would be “very grateful” for a toothpaste that helps her with her allergy. She also states that “this toothpaste could be a life changer for many people with peanut allergies.”

According to Science News’ Esther Landhuis reports, oral immunotherapy can cause more adverse side effects, this makes sublingual the more appealing option of the existing treatments at the current time. However, both oral and sublingual have their downsides.

Intommune Therapeutics looks to lessen these drawbacks, the toothpaste uses the foam produced from brushing to its advantage, the peanut proteins get delivered to all the necessary locations while simply being incorporated into part of something that’s already part of the consumer’s daily routine.

While allergist Sakina Bajowala tells Landhuis “safety is something I’m going to be watching closely,” which is the purpose of phase one of the clinical trials. As the toothpaste does come with its risks, which is affected by the dose intake, a wound after dental surgery could be affected negatively, or, if the consumer has inflamed gums, problems may occur.

The clinical trial of the toothpaste will include 32 adults that are allergic to peanuts to access the tolerance of escalating doses. Future trials held by Intrommune Therapeutics could also test toothpastes that contain multiple allergens.