Peanut Patch Shows Promise in Allergic Children

A skin patch designed to treat peanut allergies in children may help decrease allergic reactions when worn over a long period of time, a new study found.

The Phase 3 PEOPLE study evaluated the long-term effects of epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT) using the VIASKIN Peanut Patch, which delivers 250 μg peanut protein through the skin. This follow-up phase offered the intervention for up to 3 years for children aged between 4 and 11 years who already completed an initial 1-year trial with the patch.

The researchers found the percentage of children who could tolerate at least 300 μg peanut protein increased from 39.1% at the end of an initial 1-year trial to 52.9% after 36 months and 73.3% after 60 months. The proportion of participants who could tolerate at least 1000 μg peanut protein — a key threshold for desensitization — rose from 33.3% to 66.7% over the same period.

“These findings suggest that long-term use of the peanut patch may lead to continued accumulation of clinical benefit, with high treatment compliance,” said David Fleischer, MD, director of the Allergy and Immunology Center at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, Colorado, who led the study.

The findings were presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) 2025 Annual Meeting.

The study followed 298 participants, 87 of whom completed the full 60-month trial. A little over 90% of children kept the patch on for the entire study. Fleischer’s group also observed favorable immunological trends, with decreasing peanut-specific immunoglobulin E and increasing immunoglobulin G4.

“In line with other allergen immunotherapies, these data show that increased benefit is achieved over time,” Fleischer said.

The results add to previous findings on EPIT’s potential as a noninvasive treatment for peanut allergy, one of the most common food allergies among children. Nearly 2.5% of children may have a peanut allergy, according to the AAAAI.

While EPIT has shown promise, no head-to-head studies are currently running to compare patches to oral immunotherapy, said Cosby Stone, MD, an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Without such studies, no direct evidence shows which approach is safer or more effective.

Viaskin Peanut is still under US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review, whereas one FDA-approved oral immunotherapy product is already on the market with a well-defined safety and efficacy profile, said Stone, who was not involved in the latest research.

“Epicutaneous immunotherapy has shown some promise that it may be a strategy that we can use,” he said. “It is thought from current data that the patches may be easier to tolerate.”

Further research is needed to confirm the benefits of the peanut patch among broader populations, Stone said.

“The potential of epicutaneous immunotherapy is that a patch seems to be something that is still safe to do even in the setting of someone who is exquisitely allergic to peanut,” Stone said.

The research team, which includes experts from institutions in the United States, Canada, and Australia, collaborated with DBV Technologies, the developer of the peanut patch.

Lara Salahi is a health journalist based in Boston.