Food allergy is a potentially life-threatening condition, and its prevalence continues to increase despite public health efforts. There are currently no known therapies that can reliably prevent food-induced anaphylaxis. This is an open-label study designed to determine the ability acalabrutinib to prevent signs and symptoms of anaphylaxis during an oral food challenge in food-allergic adults.
Approximately 15 million people (including 8% of children) in the US have a food allergy and are at risk for life-threatening systemic reactions to foods. There is an unmet need for treatments capable of preventing such reactions. This is a phase II, single-center, open label trial involving the use of acalabrutinib (brand name Calquence®) to prevent food-induced anaphylaxis in adults with food allergy. Acalabrutinib is FDA-approved to treat certain medical conditions, but it is not approved to treat allergies. Adult participants with a physician-diagnosed food allergy to peanut and/or tree nuts will be enrolled. These participants will undergo an oral food challenge to peanut or a tree nut under close physician supervision to determine participants' baseline reactivity. After a rest period, the participants will take 4 oral doses of acalabrutinib 100 mg, and then repeat the oral food challenge to see if acalabrutinib will reduce participants' reactivity to peanut or tree nuts.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
10
100 mg oral capsule
Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Highest Dose of Peanut That is Tolerated During Oral Food Challenge
The highest dose of peanut protein (in mg) tolerated during oral food challenge before and after acalabrutinib treatment was determined by assessing clinical symptoms and physcial exam findings in each organ system during the challenge. Symptoms were given a numeric score based on the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology/European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology PRACTALL consensus system to grade symptom severity and the likelihood of their representing a true objective clinical reaction to peanut.
Time frame: Baseline and Day 2 of treatment
Area Under the Curve Severity of Clinical Reaction to Peanut
The severity of participants' cliinical reaction during oral food challenge before and after acalabrutinib treatment was determined using the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology/European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology PRACTALL consensus system to grade objective clinical findings on physical exam on a scale of 0 (absent) to 3 (severe) in 9 different organ system categories. Total symptom scores for each food dose ranged from a minimum if 0 (no symptoms) to 27 (severe objective symptoms in all organ systems), and the area under the curve for all scores during the food challenge were calculated for each participant.
Time frame: Baseline and Day 2 of treatment
Skin Prick Test Size to Peanut
The skin prick test to peanut extract wheal area (in square mm) was measured at baseline and after treatment.
Time frame: Baseline and Day 2 of treatment
Basophil Activation Testing
The percent of peripheral blood basophils activated by stimulation ex vivo with peanut extract was assessed by CD63 surface expression.
Time frame: Baseline and Day 2 of treatment
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