ood allergies affect 500 million children and adults around the world. In the United States, 85 million people are affected by food allergies or intolerances, of which 32 million suffer from a potentially life-threatening condition. Unfortunately, these numbers are on the rise.
In the many cases when blood tests or skin prick tests give uncertain results, the primary method to confirm or rule out a food allergy is the oral food challenge. This is a very important diagnostic test but can be a physically and mentally taxing process for the patient and their family as it requires the patient to eat their possible food allergen, which can trigger an agonizing allergic reaction. Reliance on the oral food challenge also stifles innovation and complicates care management. Clinical trials and treatment plans are limited or slowed because researchers and healthcare providers lack a simple-to-administer test that accurately measures clinically relevant food allergy, is validated, and is regulatory agency-accepted.
Surely, we can do better.
To develop an improved way of testing, FARE last month announced a multi-million-dollar global competition known as the FAITH Challenge. FARE will award a $1 million cash prize to a team or teams for the successful design of a new standard diagnostic tool for food allergies that can replace the oral food challenge. Interim diagnostic advancements will also receive interim cash awards from a total FAITH funding pool of $3 million. These funds have been generously donated by individual and corporate benefactors, including FARE, Nestlé Health Science, the Carter Family, the Naddisy Foundation, the Trachte Family, the Hittman Family Foundation, Dr. Louise Matthews, and Thomas Flickinger.
FARE is launching an ambitious global campaign that aims to attract luminaries in food allergy and immunology, technology, biopharma, healthcare, and venture and angel investor communities in a competition that will change the food allergy landscape for generations to come. Research submissions will be judged by a panel of food allergy and immunology experts from both academia and the private sector. All proposals are welcome: national and international teams from around the world are encouraged to participate. The first three stages of the FAITH Challenge will entail a three-year competition that will run through 2024.
We must work together to replace the oral food challenge, which while generally safe, exposes some patients to a significant allergic reaction and illness. For instance, about two percent of patients in the U.S. experience anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening reaction, as a result of the test.
So, let’s move beyond the oral food challenge and create a new and better way of testing for food allergies. Let’s harness the power of the world’s brightest minds to develop a diagnostic tool that is more compassionate and that can be put into practice everywhere.
For more information visit the FAITH Challenge.
a global affairs media network
Let’s Find a Better Way to Diagnose Food Allergies
Photo by Pixabay.
May 29, 2021
F
ood allergies affect 500 million children and adults around the world. In the United States, 85 million people are affected by food allergies or intolerances, of which 32 million suffer from a potentially life-threatening condition. Unfortunately, these numbers are on the rise.
In the many cases when blood tests or skin prick tests give uncertain results, the primary method to confirm or rule out a food allergy is the oral food challenge. This is a very important diagnostic test but can be a physically and mentally taxing process for the patient and their family as it requires the patient to eat their possible food allergen, which can trigger an agonizing allergic reaction. Reliance on the oral food challenge also stifles innovation and complicates care management. Clinical trials and treatment plans are limited or slowed because researchers and healthcare providers lack a simple-to-administer test that accurately measures clinically relevant food allergy, is validated, and is regulatory agency-accepted.
Surely, we can do better.
To develop an improved way of testing, FARE last month announced a multi-million-dollar global competition known as the FAITH Challenge. FARE will award a $1 million cash prize to a team or teams for the successful design of a new standard diagnostic tool for food allergies that can replace the oral food challenge. Interim diagnostic advancements will also receive interim cash awards from a total FAITH funding pool of $3 million. These funds have been generously donated by individual and corporate benefactors, including FARE, Nestlé Health Science, the Carter Family, the Naddisy Foundation, the Trachte Family, the Hittman Family Foundation, Dr. Louise Matthews, and Thomas Flickinger.
FARE is launching an ambitious global campaign that aims to attract luminaries in food allergy and immunology, technology, biopharma, healthcare, and venture and angel investor communities in a competition that will change the food allergy landscape for generations to come. Research submissions will be judged by a panel of food allergy and immunology experts from both academia and the private sector. All proposals are welcome: national and international teams from around the world are encouraged to participate. The first three stages of the FAITH Challenge will entail a three-year competition that will run through 2024.
We must work together to replace the oral food challenge, which while generally safe, exposes some patients to a significant allergic reaction and illness. For instance, about two percent of patients in the U.S. experience anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening reaction, as a result of the test.
So, let’s move beyond the oral food challenge and create a new and better way of testing for food allergies. Let’s harness the power of the world’s brightest minds to develop a diagnostic tool that is more compassionate and that can be put into practice everywhere.
For more information visit the FAITH Challenge.
