Repurposing metformin to treat food allergy

Funded by Food Allergy Fund

Dr. Yamini Virkud and Dr. Scott Commins as Principal Investigators

Although there have been recent advances in food allergy prophylaxis, including oral, sublingual, and epicutaneous desensitization with allergenic food extracts, each of these treatment modalities is allergen-specific and requires, at least initially, the continued presence of antigen to create a desensitized state. The requirement for antigen causes patients with severe food allergies to be exposed to the food(s) they would otherwise avoid and may be less ideal for individuals who have multiple food allergies. Thus, an improved therapy for food allergy would be allergen-independent,given without injection, and result in desensitization without ongoing exposure to the culprit food.

These goals led us to consider the use of established drugs that are safe, inexpensive, and potentially able to ameliorate allergy to multiple foods. Metformin use is associated with decreased asthma prevalence and exacerbation. In addition, Dr. Fred Finkelman reported that metformin prevented food allergy development and suppressed established food allergy to cow’s milk, egg and peanut in mouse models. We propose that metformin, likely acting through the unfolded protein response, has the potential to treat established food allergy. Metformin is FDA-approved and has significant safety data in children; however, it has not been studied in patients with food allergy. The Food Allergy Fund will support a pilot study using Metformin to treat food allergies to determine safety and efficacy for future scaled clinical trials.