Epicutaneous Immotherapy Method (EPIT)

Allergen-specific Immunotherapy (SIT) for allergy treatment has been used for the past century and is supported by convincing documentation of its efficacy. Allergen-specific Immunotherapy consists of administering gradually increasing quantities of an allergen product to an individual with IgE-mediated allergic disease in order to improve/reduce/anneal the symptoms associated with subsequent exposure to the causative allergen. It can induce clinical and immunological tolerance which may be maintained years after cessation of the treatment.

DBV Technologies has developed a desensitization method using VIASKIN^® technology aimed at developing a cutaneous route for allergen-specific immunotherapy/allergy desensitization, called Epicutaneous ImmunoTherapy (EPIT). This is an effective and completely non-invasive alternative to established subcutaneous allergen-specific immunotherapy (SCIT) or sublingual allergen-specific immunotherapy (SLIT).

DBV’s EPIT method is based on pre-clinical observations and preliminary clinical results obtained in a cohort of children. Its principle involves maintaining an allergen on the skin of an allergic subject for repeated and prolonged periods, in order to achieve clinical desensitization/tolerization. When the allergen-specific VIASKIN^® is applied to the skin of a patient with an IgE-mediated allergy, supplied allergens provoke a local reaction, mostly consisting of minor eczematous lesions, which may be considered as a marker of clinical efficacy.

The advantages of DBV’s EPIT over conventional Subcutaneous Immunotherapy (SCIT)

The major differences between epicutaneous and subcutaneous allergen exposure are:

• Epicutaneous exposure is non-invasive and avoids the disruption of the blood-skin barrier dramatically reducing the risk of inducing anaphylactic shock,
• Epicutaneous exposure is visually monitored and its application can be simply halted with the instant removal of the VIASKIN^® containing the allergen in the event of strong cutaneous reactivity,
• The product can be easily and painlessly applied by healthcare professionals and also by the patient or their parents at home, which facilitates treatment compliance.