Parents of children with severe milk and peanut allergies have told how their lives have been transformed by the pioneering Natasha Clinical Trial.
The £2.5 million trial was funded by a gift to the University of Southampton from The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation. Children with food allergies as young as two are among the first participants. Early evidence shows children on the trial are tolerating milk and peanuts to which they were previously severely allergic.
The trial uses daily doses of everyday food products, taken under strict medical supervision, rather than expensive pharmaceuticals to train the bodies of children and young people with food allergies to tolerate an allergen. This approach – known as oral immunotherapy (OIT) – means children living with food allergies should no longer have an allergic reaction if they eat something which accidentally contains the food allergen, for example due to cross-contamination. Doctors say they are already seeing children on the trial who are able to consume and tolerate the very foods which previously would have triggered a severe allergic reaction.
Hasan Arshad, Professor of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the University of Southampton and Chief Investigator of the trial, said: “We must wait until the trial is complete for the full picture but we are very pleased with the results we are seeing so far.”
If successful, the three-year trial, led by researchers at the University of Southampton, University Hospital Southampton and Imperial College London, will provide the evidence for the treatment to be made available on the NHS.
This is the first major study to be funded by Natasha’s Foundation, set up by the parents of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse who died aged 15 from a severe food allergic reaction. The charity’s mission is to #MakeAllergyHistory through medical research, campaigning and education.
Professor Arshad, Head of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology Service at University Hospital of Southampton, added: “At present, people with food allergies are asked to avoid the food they react to and carry adrenalin pens in case of accidental exposure. This is not a satisfactory situation and we would like them to be able to live their lives without having to avoid the popular foods that others enjoy or being fearful of accidental food allergic reactions.
“The Natasha Trial aims to do better for people living with food allergies. We are testing a clinically controlled procedure of gradual introduction of allergen foods until the point where these are tolerated. Our ultimate aim is a life without the risk of allergic reactions – reactions which for some, can be severe and life threatening.”
The trial is being run across five hospitals: University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Sheffield Children’s Hospital. The trial will shortly start in Scotland (Edinburgh and Aberdeen) with Bristol and Leeds hopefully joining soon after.
The Natasha Trial, which began last year (2023), is a randomised controlled trial, the gold standard in medical research.