Driving Impact Over Time: NPB’s Peanut Allergy Journey

Driving Impact Over Time: NPB’s Peanut Allergy Journey

By Markita Lewis, MS, RDN

Peanut allergy research and the National Peanut Board (NPB) seem to go hand in hand. Since its creation, NPB has funded over $36 million in peanut allergy research, starting with a group of peanut farmers who decided that they were no longer going to be silent about allergies. They wanted a future in which peanut allergies didn’t exist.

Where Did We Begin?

Let’s take a step back into the past. In the late ‘90s and early 2000s, peanut allergies were on the rise without a clear reason. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released guidance to delay the introduction of peanuts to infants until three years of age. Peanut farmers were also receiving a lot of heat from both consumers and the industry alike about peanut allergies, but there wasn’t much empowerment to address the issue head-on.

It wasn’t until the formation of NPB that its original Board members, encouraged by Dee Dee Darden, former Virginia Board member, decided that they wanted to be a part of the solution.

“When NPB was formed in 2000/2001, no one in the peanut industry was talking about peanut allergies,” Darden said. “It was like if you didn’t talk about it, the problem would go away. But it was not going away, and allergies were on the rise. As a mother, new grandmother and peanut farmer, I saw an opportunity for us to be proactive and maybe make a difference. It took a lot of courage, but my fellow NPB members were on board. We took a small leap in 2001 and years later, Dr. Gideon Lack made a giant breakthrough with his LEAP study!”

Shortly after NPB began, the Board formed the Scientific Advisory Committee for scientists to come together and discuss the current allergy research landscape, and what needed to be done to drive the needle forward in finding solutions. From there, opportunities to collaborate and fund research arose.

Early Projects

NPB’s proactive peanut farmers have driven impact in all areas of allergy, including treatment. With farmer funding, Drs. Wesley Burks and Stacie Jones were able to conduct some of the earliest U.S.-based oral immunotherapy (OIT) research for peanut allergies out of both the University of Arkansas and Duke University in the early 2000s.

A partnership with Tanox Inc. (now owned by Roche Holding) in 2001 and 2002 helped begin research on antiIgE therapeutics for peanut allergy treatment. That early work has ultimately led to the development of anti-IgE treatments including Xolair (omalizumab), which is now an FDA-approved medication to help reduce allergenic reactions to top food allergens, including peanuts.

The LEAP Study

The story of NPB and peanut allergy research wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the longstanding relationship between NPB and Dr. Gideon Lack, the world-renowned researcher behind the Learning Early About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) Study.

When Dr. Lack and his team noticed the disparities in peanut allergies in Israel and the United Kingdom, NPB was one of the first organizations to help fund their research on the impact of early feeding and other factors on the development of peanut allergies. The initial Israel-UK study in 2008 gave promising data on early introduction and allergy prevention, and the later LEAP studies have revolutionized allergy guidance including the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the AAP peanut allergy prevention guidelines.

Continuing to Drive Impact

The fight to eradicate peanut allergies is not over, and NPB continues to evolve the way that it drives allergy research forward. This year, NPB created a new food allergy grant program to support food allergy research through a health equity lens and support new voices in research. In this inaugural year, NPB received over 35 proposals from food allergy researchers and advocacy groups from around the world. In this new era, NPB plans to continue to drive impact in the world of peanut allergy research.