How would you like a test to see if your child is allergic to dairy that is "Practical, simple to use, and painless as it is completely non-invasive, and it can be applied directly by the parents to the child's back at home."
Sure sounds good. The product, under the name Viaskin, has been announced by DBV Technologies.
According to an investment information site:
DBV Technologies was formed by two paediatricians in March 2002, for the purposes of developing food allergy diagnostic tests. The company won the Altran Foundation Innovation Award in 2003, and receives backing from the French Innovation Agency (Oséo-ANVAR).
DBV Technologies has developed and patented a non-invasive, painless, affordable, and highly-reliable patch system based on an original electrostatic technique.
In 2004, DBV Technologies launched the first test patch that can be used to diagnose cow's milk allergy, a condition afflicting approximately one out of every 12 newborns. Within only 18 months, over 20,000 of these diagnostic tests were sold in pharmacies.
The company is currently developing other therapeutic applications for its patch, including vaccinations, cutaneous drug administration, and the diagnosis of and desensitisation to other allergies (wheat, dust mites, etc.).
The latest news about the Viaskin patch is being announced at the 2007 BIO International Convention, the Global Event for Biotechnology, now ongoing at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
DBV Technologies' press release, found at LaboratoryTalk.com, says:
Viaskin is a dry, disc-shaped cutaneous device system that holds an active ingredient in powder form on an electrically charged plastic film that only delivers it when Viaskin is placed on the skin.
...
Application of the disc creates a occlusive chamber between the disc and the skin, making the chamber's conditions humid enough to hydrate and release the active ingredient, and to open the skin's pores to better absorb the active ingredient.
Diallertest Milk uses this technology to diagnose cow's milk protein allergy and is suitable for everyday medical practice.
Practical, simple to use, and painless as it is completely non-invasive, and it can be applied directly by the parents to the child's back at home.
It significantly improves the effectiveness in the diagnosis of cow's milk protein allergy.
The faster the diagnosis and treatment, the lower the risk of developing allergosis.
DVB is also developing Diallertest to diagnose dust mite, soy, and wheat allergies.
The milk allergy test will soon be available to the United States.
DBV Technologies and Numico, a Dutch company specialising in the production and sale of nutritional foodstuffs, have announced a distribution agreement for Diallertest Milk that will extend its original network to include the entire world.
Since February 2006, Nutricia, Numico's French subsidiary, has distributed Diallertest Milk in France.
Today, about 70,000 tests have already been prescribed.
The test is available in Australia, France, the Middle East, and New Zealand.
Founded in 2002, DBV Technologies was created by Pierre-Henri Benhamou, a pediatrician specialising in gastro-enterology, allergosis, and nutrition, and Bertrand Dupont, a qualified engineer from the Arts et Metiers institute.
Today it is chaired by Jean-Francois Biry, CEO.
The company has perfected and globally patented the Viaskin technology.
Let's hope we hear more about Viaskin becoming commercially available in the U.S. soon.
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