EAACI 2023

The ‘Evolving Patient Journeys in Food Allergy’ symposium took place at the EAACI Congress 2023 in Hamburg on Friday 9^th June 2023. 

Session 1: Professor Alexandra Santos - Welcome and introductions
Session 2: Professor Alexandra Santos and Dr Rebecca Knibb - Improving confidence – managing anxieties around living with food allergies
Session 3: Pablo Rodríguez del Río, MD PhD - Integrating OIT into clinical practice
Session 4: Professor Margitta Worm - Practical management in adult patients
Session 5: Q&A discussion with all faculty

After participating in this educational programme, learners will be able to:

1. Identify appropriate support pathways to ease patient anxiety around the management of food allergies
2. Recognise the benefits and risks of oral immunotherapies for the treatment of food allergies
3. Identify practical management techniques which can be used in the treatment of food allergies

Food allergy symposium overview 

This live symposium provides insight into emerging approaches for improving the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of food allergies. You will discover diagnostic strategies that may improve the patient experience, learn about new therapeutic approaches and explore how these strategies could reduce anxiety associated with strict avoidance diets in patients with food allergies. During the live event, attendees were able to participate in a Q&A session with the panel who provided insights based on their own clinical experience.

Find out more from the expert faculty who address some unanswered question from the symposium Q&A session

Meet the faculty

Professor Alexandra Santos

Professor Alexandra Santos is Professor of Paediatric Allergy at King’s College London and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Allergy at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital in London, UK.

Disclosures: Professor Santos has grants from Medical Research Council (MR/M008517/1; MC/PC/18052; MR/T032081/1), Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE), the NIH, Asthma UK (AUK-BC-2015-01), Immune Tolerance Network/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, NIH), the European Commission and the Wellcome Trust; consultancy and/or speaker fees from Thermo Scientific, Nutricia, Infomed, Novartis, Allergy Therapeutics, Bühlmann, as well as research support from Bühlmann and Thermo Fisher Scientific through a collaboration agreement with King's College London

Doctor Rebecca Knibb

Dr Rebecca Knibb is an Associate Professor in Health Psychology at Aston University. Birmingham, UK.

Disclosures: Dr Rebecca Knibb is in receipt of grants/research supports from Aimmune, National Peanut Board, Novartis, Food Standards Agency, National Institute for Health Research and is also in receipt of honoraria or consultation fees from Aimmune, Nutricia and has participation in a company sponsored speaker’s bureau with DBV Technologies

Pablo Rodríguez del Río, MD, PhD

Pablo Rodríguez del Río, MD, PhD is a specialist in allergology at the Infantil Niño Jesús university paediatric hospital, Madrid, Spain.

Disclosures: Pablo Rodríguez del Río MD, PhD is in receipt of grants or research support from Aimmune Therapeutics and is in receipt of honoraria or consultation fees from FAES. Dr Rodríguez del Río has also participated in a company-sponsored speaker’s bureau for SK, FAES, Novartis, ALK-Abelló, LETI and Aimmune Therapeutics, Sanofi, Stallergenes, DBV

Prof. Dr. med. Margitta Worm

Prof. Dr. med. Margitta Worm is a university professor for immune modulation of allergic diseases at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.

Disclosures: Prof. Dr. med. Margitta Worm is in receipt of honoraria or consultation fees grants or research support from Novartis Pharma GmbH, Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH, DBV Technologies S.A, Aimmune Therapeutics UK Limited, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals,Inc, Leo Pharma GmbH, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH &Co.KG, ALK-Abelló Arzneimittel GmbH, Lilly Deutschland GmbH, Kymab Limited, Amgen GmbH, Abbvie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizer Pharma GmbH, Mylan Germany GmbH (A Viatris Company), AstraZeneca GmbH and GlaxoSmithKline GmbH & Co. KG.

Listen to further insights from the expert faculty and their key take home messages in these follow-up videos to the EAACI 2023 symposium, ‘Evolving patient journeys in food allergy.’

Professor Alexandra Santos and Dr Rebecca Knibb delve into the ramifications of food allergies on the psychological well-being of patients, highlighting prevalent sources of anxiety and coping mechanisms. The experts discuss practical strategies aimed at bolstering the confidence of individuals with  food allergies and provide guidance to healthcare professionals to help effectively support these patients.

Pablo Rodríguez del Río, MD, PhD takes a deep-dive into his symposium session focussing on the integration of oral immunotherapy (OIT) within clinical practice, highlighting up to date research on OIT and, addresses factors that healthcare providers (HCPs) should contemplate when considering incorporating OIT. Gain insights into Pablo's aspirations for the future regarding the implementation and development of OIT in clinical practice to treat food allergies.

Professor Margitta Worm reviews her symposium session, highlighting the key takeaway messages from her presentation, including how precision medicine may shape the future of food allergy treatment. She also explores how the practical management of food allergies in adult populations has evolved over the past few years and outlines the approaches that have been shown to be effective in improving patient outcomes.