Health
FDA approves allergy drug to lessen severity of reactions to peanuts, dairy, other foods
Food allergy sufferers have a new weapon in their fight against severe symptoms.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the injectable Xolair (omalizumab) the green light for use in decreasing the risk of life-threatening reactions to certain foods.
Xolair was approved for “immunoglobulin E-mediated food allergy in certain adults and children 1 year or older,” the FDA announced on Feb. 16.
This is the first medication the FDA has approved to reduce allergic reactions after accidental exposure to several types of food, the agency stated.
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Robert A. Wood, M.D., was the principal investigator of the multicenter study that led to the FDA approval.
“Treatment options, aside from strict avoidance, have been very limited for the millions of Americans with severe food allergies,” Wood, director of the Division of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, told Fox News Digital.
The FDA has given the injectable Xolair (omalizumab) the green light for use in decreasing the risk of life-threatening reactions to certain foods. (iStock)
“The lives of these patients and their families are often consumed by fear of accidental exposure to food allergens — and even with strict avoidance, accidental exposures are common.”
“The approval of Xolair for the treatment of food allergy will be very meaningful, and potentially even life-changing, for people with food allergies,” Wood added.
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Kenneth Mendez, president and CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), a nonprofit headquartered in Maryland, was not involved in the medication research but spoke with Fox News Digital about the recent approval.
“The stress of living with food allergies can weigh heavily on people and their families, particularly when navigating events like children’s birthday parties, school lunches and holiday dinners with friends and family,” Mendez said.
“Given the growing prevalence of food allergies, this news offers hope to the many children and adults who may benefit from a new way to help manage their food allergies.”
Milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, wheat, soy, peanuts, and tree nuts account for the most serious allergic reactions in the U.S. (iStock)
Individuals must still avoid foods they’re allergic to, even if they take Xolair, the FDA noted in the announcement.
“This newly approved use for Xolair will provide a treatment option to reduce the risk of harmful allergic reactions among certain patients with IgE-mediated food allergies,” Kelly Stone, M.D., PhD, associate director of the Division of Pulmonology, Allergy and Critical Care in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in an FDA news release.
“While it will not eliminate food allergies or allow patients to consume food allergens freely, its repeated use will help reduce the health impact if accidental exposure occurs.”
Risk reducer, not cure
Xolair, made by Genentech in California, is not approved for the immediate emergency treatment of allergic reactions. It is also not a substitute for current emergency treatments, the federal agency stated.
Such emergency treatments include doses of epinephrine and EpiPens to prevent anaphylaxis, which is a severe allergic reaction that can potentially be fatal, health experts told Fox News Digital.
Individuals must still avoid foods they are allergic to, even if they take Xolair, the FDA noted in the announcement. (iStock)
Nearly 6% of U.S. adults and children suffer from food allergies, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — and more than 40% of children with food allergies in the U.S. have been treated in the emergency department.
Dr. Fred Davis, associate chair of emergency medicine at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York, said he sees a number of allergic reactions from exposure to food.
“This drug may be able to lower that risk,” he told Fox News Digital.
“Remember that this is a preventative drug, not a medication to be used after exposure when one is having an acute allergic reaction,” Davis cautioned.
“This news offers hope to the many children and adults who may benefit from a new way to help manage their food allergies.”
“The recent FDA approval of Xolair for food allergies marks another important step forward for the 33 million Americans living with this condition,” Dr. Susan Schuval, chief of the Division of Pediatric Allergy/Immunology at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital on Long Island, New York, told Fox News Digital.
“Although Xolair is not a cure for food allergies, its use may lessen the risk of severe reactions from accidental food exposures. Patients will still need to practice food avoidance and carry epinephrine injectors,” Schuval said.
Emergency treatments include doses of epinephrine and EpiPens to prevent anaphylaxis, which is a severe allergic reaction that can potentially be fatal. (iStock)
As there is currently no cure for food allergies, the CDC recommends strict avoidance of any foods that cause them.
Milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, wheat, soy, peanuts, and tree nuts account for the most serious allergic reactions in the U.S., per the agency.
IgE-mediated food allergies — the most severe — occur when the body’s immune system mistakenly perceives a food particle as a harmful invader.
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A type of antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE) contributes to the immune response, which can include stomach issues, itching, hives or anaphylaxis, according to several health experts.
Xolair helps dampen this immune response by targeting certain receptors in the body.
“It is an injection that works on blocking IgE, reducing the risk of an allergic reaction, but needs to be taken regularly to work,” Davis told Fox News Digital.
Research behind the approval
The FDA’s approval decision was based on a study that explored the effectiveness and safety of Xolair in 168 participants ranging from babies to adults.
All participants were allergic to peanuts and at least two other foods, which included milk, wheat, egg, walnut, hazelnut or walnut.
A type of antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE) contributes to the body’s immune response, which can include stomach issues, itching, hives or anaphylaxis. (iStock)
Participants received either Xolair or a placebo for 16 to 20 weeks.
Sixty-eight percent of those who received Xolair were able to tolerate the equivalent of 2½ peanuts without a moderate or severe allergic reaction, compared to 6% who took the placebo.
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Also among the participants who received the Xolair injections, 67% of people with egg allergies, 66% of people with milk allergies and 42% of people with cashew allergies were able to consume a single dose (1,000 milligrams or greater) of cashew, milk or egg protein without moderate to severe allergic symptoms.
The agency recommended that an individual should only start the medication in a health care setting equipped to manage anaphylaxis.
Patients should discuss with their health care provider whether Xolair is the right choice for them, experts said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the FDA for additional comment.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health.
A look back at the medical miracles of 2025
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to highlight 2025 breakthroughs, from a pineapple-derived burn cream to a newly approved heart procedure.
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America has been at the forefront of medical innovation since the nation’s founding in 1776.
From groundbreaking surgeries to cancer breakthroughs, U.S. physicians have helped transform nearly every field of medicine.
As America marks its 250th anniversary, experts are highlighting some of the most influential medical innovations in the nation’s history.
No. 1: Orthopedic care
John Uribe, MD, orthopedic surgeon and system chief executive at Baptist Health Orthopedic Care in Florida, said he believes the greatest breakthrough in orthopedics is the evolution of joint replacement surgery, particularly of the hip and knee.
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“A generation ago, severe arthritis or joint damage often meant a lifetime of pain, limited mobility and loss of independence,” he told Fox News Digital.
“Today, orthopedic surgeons can replace a damaged joint with highly durable implants, use advanced imaging and navigation, and increasingly rely on robotic-assisted technology to personalize implant positioning and improve precision.”
“The future of orthopedics will be less one-size-fits-all and more focused on matching the right procedure, implant, recovery plan and technology to the individual patient,” a doctor said. (iStock)
Today, patients can walk the same day after joint replacement, return home sooner and recover with less disruption than in the past, according to Uribe.
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“Hip and knee replacements, arthroscopic procedures, advanced fracture care and spine treatments have allowed patients to stay active longer and maintain independence as they age,” the doctor said. “The biggest impact is that orthopedic care can give people back parts of their lives they thought they had lost.”
“For many patients, the goal is no longer just to relieve pain; it is to restore movement, independence and quality of life.”
No. 2: Mental health treatment
For most of America’s 250 years, mental illness was largely treated indirectly with medication, or not at all when medication was ineffective, according to Dr. Russ Voltin, a West Virginia-based practicing psychiatrist and medical consultant at BrainsWay.
The biggest breakthrough, Voltin told Fox News Digital, has been neuromodulation therapies like deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which are “clinically proven to non-invasively target the brain circuits involved in conditions such as depression and OCD, helping rebalance neural activity at its source.”
“Mental health is brain health, and for the first time, we have treatments designed to address it that way.”
For most of America’s 250 years, mental illness was largely treated indirectly with medication, or not at all when medication was ineffective. (iStock)
A generation ago, a patient who didn’t respond to medication had very limited options, he said.
“Today, a clinician can offer noninvasive brain stimulation in an outpatient chair – no anesthesia, no sedation, none of the prominent side effects of medication, and all with limited lifestyle interruption.”
The FDA recently expanded clearance for an accelerated Deep TMS protocol that shortens the initial phase of depression treatment from about four weeks of daily visits to just six treatment days.
“Mental health is brain health, and for the first time, we have treatments designed to address it that way.”
“For someone in a depressive crisis, this is the difference between waiting and getting better,” the expert said.
In clinical trials, roughly 78% of patients reached remission and more than 80% were still in remission a full year later.
“The biggest shift is that for people who once cycled through medication after medication with no relief, durable recovery is now a realistic goal rather than a hope.” (iStock)
“As a clinician, that last figure is the one that matters most: People going back to work, repairing relationships and re-entering their own lives, not just scoring better on a questionnaire,” Voltin said.
“The biggest shift is that for people who once cycled through medication after medication with no relief, durable recovery is now a realistic goal rather than a hope.”
No. 3: Cancer care
Cancer care has advanced dramatically over the past 250 years, with breakthroughs in prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment transforming patient outcomes.
Leonard Kalman, MD, acting system chief executive at Baptist Health Cancer Care and acting executive medical director at Baptist Health Herbert Wertheim Cancer Institute in South Florida, said one of the most important breakthroughs in oncology is the understanding that “at its core,” cancer is a genetic disease.
Today, physicians can cure certain leukemias and lymphomas that were “once far more difficult to treat,” an expert noted. (iStock)
“Cancer can be driven by inherited germline mutations or by somatic mutations that occur in normal tissue and lead cells to become malignant,” he told Fox News Digital. “That discovery has transformed how we understand, diagnose and treat cancer.”
Today, physicians can cure certain leukemias and lymphomas that were “once far more difficult to treat,” the doctor noted.
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“We can also extend life while preserving quality of life for many patients with metastatic cancers — including diseases such as lung cancer, melanoma and prostate cancer, where treatment options were much more limited a generation ago,” Kalman said.
Many of those advances have shifted cancer care toward more individualized treatment, allowing physicians to tailor therapies based on a patient’s specific disease.
“For many patients, the goal is no longer just to relieve pain; it is to restore movement, independence and quality of life.”
“Advances in targeted therapies, immunotherapy, molecular testing and supportive care allow physicians to better personalize treatment, manage side effects and help patients live longer with a better quality of life, even when cancer has spread beyond the primary tumor,” the doctor said.
No. 4: Cardiovascular care
Tom Nguyen, MD, system chief executive at Baptist Health Heart & Vascular Care and chief medical executive at Baptist Health Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute in South Florida, highlighted the ability to diagnose heart disease earlier and treat “even the most complex conditions” with safer, more precise and less invasive therapies.
“Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, but patients who once might have died in their 40s or 50s are now routinely living into their 80s and 90s with an excellent quality of life,” he told Fox News Digital.
Although cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, patients who once might have died in their 40s or 50s are now “routinely living into their 80s and 90s with an excellent quality of life,” the doctor said. (iStock)
Procedures like open-heart surgery, coronary artery bypass surgery, coronary stents, catheter-based valve replacement, advanced imaging and robotic heart surgery have “completely transformed what is possible,” according to Nguyen.
“Robotic heart surgery is a powerful example of how far the field has come,” he said. “For appropriately selected patients, surgeons can now perform highly complex heart procedures through much smaller incisions using robotic technology that provides exceptional visualization, precision and control.”
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The biggest achievement, Nguyen said, is not only helping people live longer, but also helping them “live better.”
“Today, heart and vascular specialists can perform procedures that would have seemed almost unimaginable just one generation ago,” he said. “Patients are surviving heart attacks, valve disease, rhythm disorders and complex vascular conditions at rates that would have been difficult to imagine decades ago.”
“Many complex cardiac operations that once required opening the chest can now be performed through small incisions, or robotically – allowing patients to recover much faster with less pain and disruption to their lives,” a doctor said. (iStock)
Success isn’t measured only by survival, Nguyen added. “Our ultimate goal is to help patients feel better and return to the lives they enjoy.”
No. 5: Neurology
Michael McDermott, MD, system chief executive of Baptist Health Brain & Spine Care and chief medical executive at Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institute, said the ability to safely operate on the brain is the greatest advancement in American neuroscience.
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“Less than a century ago, a craniotomy was an extraordinarily risky operation, and survival itself was far from guaranteed,” he told Fox News Digital. “Today, advances in anesthesia, electrocautery, imaging, surgical navigation, brain mapping and intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring have transformed brain surgery into a highly precise and much safer procedure.”
The ability to treat acute stroke in real time has been “equally transformative,” McDermott noted.
The growth of artificial intelligence is “beginning to transform spine surgery,” a neurologist said, by helping physicians identify which patients are “most likely to benefit from complex corrective procedures and by allowing implants to be precisely modeled before surgery.” (iStock)
“Using advanced imaging and mechanical thrombectomy, physicians can now remove a clot from the brain and restore blood flow before permanent damage occurs in many eligible patients,” he said. “At the same time, innovations such as high-intensity focused ultrasound for essential tremor demonstrate how neuroscience has become increasingly precise and less invasive.”
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Today, neuro experts can accomplish tasks that “would have been difficult to imagine just one generation ago,” McDermott noted.
“We can remove blood clots from the brain during an active stroke, implant deep brain stimulation devices for Parkinson’s disease, and perform highly sophisticated brain and spine surgery using advanced imaging, navigation and artificial intelligence,” he said.
Medical advancements have improved quality of life in patients with brain tumors and spinal complications. (iStock)
Advances like image-guided surgery, intra-operative brain mapping, neurophysiologic monitoring and radio-surgery allow surgeons to remove tumors more safely while protecting areas of the brain responsible for movement, speech and other critical functions, he said.
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Beyond brain tumors, other advances across neuroscience, like corrective spine surgery, have allowed doctors to restore posture and mobility in patients with severe spinal deformities. Meanwhile, focused ultrasound can “significantly reduce tremors that interfere with everyday activities such as writing, eating or drinking,” McDermott noted.
“Increasingly, our goal isn’t simply to help patients survive – we’re helping them maintain their independence, preserve function and return to the lives they want to live.”
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Health
West Nile virus detected in southern state as health officials warn residents about mosquitoes
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Health officials in Nashville are urging residents to protect themselves from mosquito bites after West Nile virus was detected in mosquitoes for the first time this year.
The Metro Public Health Department (MPHD) announced the virus was found in a mosquito pool collected near Cass Street in North Nashville, marking the city’s first detection of West Nile virus in 2026 and the earliest positive mosquito sample of the season.
The detection comes after health officials reported elevated West Nile virus activity in mosquito pools during 2025, when one human case of the virus was confirmed.
“We can all play a role in reducing the presence of mosquitoes in our community, making our outdoor areas both more pleasant and safer from mosquito-borne diseases like West Nile virus,” Dr. Sanmi Areola, director of health at the Metro Public Health Department, said in a statement to Fox 17.
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A close-up shows mosquitoes feeding in Tehatta, India, on May 1, 2026. Health officials in Nashville recently detected West Nile virus in a mosquito pool, prompting residents to take precautions against mosquito bites. (Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
“As our team educates those in the area where West Nile virus was found, we hope the rest of our community does what they can to protect themselves and their families from mosquitoes this summer.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Nile virus is the leading mosquito-borne disease in the United States. Most people infected with the virus do not develop symptoms, but about one in five experience fever, headaches, body aches, vomiting, diarrhea or a rash. Fewer than 1% develop a serious neurological illness that can affect the brain or spinal cord, with older adults and people with weakened immune systems facing the greatest risk.
Public health officials routinely trap and test mosquitoes throughout the summer to monitor for West Nile virus activity. A positive mosquito sample does not necessarily mean people in the area will become infected, but it serves as an early warning that the virus is circulating locally.
In response to the positive test, MPHD said crews are distributing educational flyers in the affected neighborhood, increasing mosquito trapping, monitoring standing water and applying larvicide where needed to help reduce mosquito populations. The department said it does not spray insecticide to kill adult mosquitoes.
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The Aedes mosquito is a known vector for several viruses, including West Nile virus, yellow fever virus, dengue virus, chikungunya virus, and Zika virus. (Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Residents can also request a free backyard inspection from the department’s Pest Management team to identify areas where mosquitoes may be breeding.
Health officials recommend eliminating standing water from bird baths, flowerpots, buckets, old tires, children’s toys and other outdoor containers where mosquitoes lay eggs. Trimming overgrown vegetation around homes can also help reduce mosquito activity.
A field sample of mosquitoes that could carry West Nile Virus is seen at offices of the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health on April 26, 2007, in Hemet, California. (David McNew/Getty Images)
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To help prevent mosquito bites, the health department recommends using EPA-approved insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin or oil of lemon eucalyptus, wearing long sleeves and pants outdoors during peak mosquito hours around dusk and dawn, and making sure window and door screens are in good repair.
Officials said reducing mosquito breeding around homes can help lower the risk of West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne illnesses throughout the community.
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