Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pushing back against what's become the standard explanation for why peanut allergies exploded in the United States over the past few decades. Speaking Monday at a Food Allergy Fund event, Kennedy said he's not buying the idea that delayed peanut introduction was the main culprit. Instead, he raised concerns about aluminum used in vaccines.
The timing matters here because DBV Technologies S.A. (DBVT) is in the middle of developing a treatment for peanut allergies. The company announced last week that the final patient visit in its Phase 3 VITESSE trial was completed. The trial is testing the VIASKIN Peanut patch on peanut-allergic children aged 4-7. With the double-blind, placebo-controlled treatment phase wrapped up, DBV expects to announce topline data from VITESSE in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The numbers behind this debate are striking. According to the National Institutes of Health, about 0.5% of children worldwide had a peanut allergy back in 1997. Today, that figure sits around 2%. Kennedy pointed out that this rise coincided with the introduction of aluminum in vaccines, which he believes warrants closer examination.
But here's where it gets interesting: while Kennedy questions the early-exposure theory, recent data suggests that revised feeding guidance is actually working. A study published in Pediatrics in October found that peanut allergies have declined since doctors started recommending early introduction of peanut products to infants, especially those at high risk.
The guidance first targeted high-risk infants in 2015, then expanded to all children in 2017. According to the study, peanut allergies among children ages 0 to 3 dropped by more than 27% after the initial guidance and more than 40% following the broader recommendations. That's a significant shift in a relatively short time.
Researchers acknowledged the study had limitations, including incomplete national representation and gaps in understanding feeding habits. Still, the findings align with earlier clinical evidence showing that early introduction can substantially reduce allergy risk.
Price Action: DBVT stock traded down 2.01% at $13.65 during Wednesday's premarket session.
