Allergies come in all shapes and sizes ...
Just like allergy sufferers. And they are on the rise. For many people allergies can range from sniffling and sneezing to skin rashes to gastrointestinal issues. A certain percentage, however, have more than these uncomfortable symptoms to deal with. Anaphylaxis, a serious life-threatening reaction, causes approximately 1,500 deaths a year in the United States alone. Clearly, allergies are nothing to sneeze at!
Articles for Advocacy
Because of the coronavirus, the Food and Drug Administration has recently issued interim food labeling guidelines, in response to possible supply chain issues and shortages. These guidelines created confusion as to “what’s in, what’s out and what’s new” in food products. As a result, there have been responses and reactions from throughout the food allergy community. From petitions to letters, from comments to FDA to calls for clarity regarding these guidelines, our community has been vocal in response to these changes. And the FDA heard us. The FDA has developed a FAQ page and provided additional guidance to help clarify its new guidelines.
Pandemic Jolts Federal Policy for Food Labeling
Reporting by Patrick Morris
June 20, 2020
If you suffer from a food allergy, a food’s product label is essential reading. It can help determine what foods are safe to eat and which are not. Because of the coronavirus, the FDA recently has issued interim food labeling guidelines, in response to possible supply chain issues and shortages. These changes produced confusion and frustration among numerous allergy suffers. The Allergy Advocacy Association, working with other members of the food allergy community, lobbied the FDA about the possible impact these label guideline changes could have. To provide a better understanding of these interim requirements the FDA has developed a FAQ page.
The race for a vaccine to the coronavirus, can be felt in many places. From hospitals to research facilities, from schools to businesses, big and small, to even the halls of Capitol Hill. In pursuit of a vaccine, the issue of drug pricing, appears to of slowed if not stalled in Congress. The race for a vaccine, with lessened regulation and increased federal monies for drug research and innovation, have provided the pharmaceutical industry increased leverage in the drug pricing battle. While we all hope for a vaccine to the coronavirus soon, lawmakers must be reminded of the drug makers past behavior with drug pricing and the need for affordable lifesaving medicine.
Drug Makers Have Even Less Reason to Fear Price Reform Now
Photographer: Jared Soares for Bloomberg Businessweek
With people hoping for a coronavirus vaccine, Congress has less leverage to rein in the industry.
By Riley Griffin and Emma Court
June 18, 2020
When a headhunter for the drug industry approached Michelle McMurry-Heath in January about taking the helm of a powerful trade group, she brushed off the offer. She wasn’t interested in making “bad-smelling” positions palatable to Washington. “If you’re looking for a typical lobbyist,” she recalls saying, “I’m not that person.”
McMurry-Heath holds an M.D.-Ph.D., has worked at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Johnson & Johnson, and calls access to medicine “the social justice issue of our time.” The Biotechnology Innovation Organization had accelerated a search for its next leader as the novel coronavirus jumped across borders, and McMurry-Heath stood out. “She wasn’t the clear, obvious choice,” says Jeremy Levin, the chairman of BIO. Its last chief executive officer was former Republican Representative James Greenwood of Pennsylvania. “But we had the opportunity to make a statement.”
A game changer is defined as “an event, idea, or procedure that effects a significant shift in the current manner of doing or thinking about something.” The possibility of a pill that could prevent anaphylaxis has that potential. For those that suffer from life threatening allergies, the ability to proactively deal with anaphylaxis would not only be welcomed relief, it could provide comfort and reassurance to their loved ones, as well as saving countless lives. And that truly would be a game changer.
New Pill Could Prevent Anaphylaxis in People with Food, Drug Allergies
Drug Would Be The First Known Treatment To Prevent Anaphylaxis
By Kristin Samuelson
June 2, 2020
For someone with a food or drug allergy, the risk of life-threatening anaphylactic shock lurks around every corner. A new Northwestern Medicine study shows there might be a pill that can be taken proactively to prevent mild to life-threatening anaphylaxis, no matter the cause. Anaphylaxis is a severe, potentially life-threatening systemic allergic reaction that can occur within seconds or minutes of exposure to an allergen. It occurs in about one in 50 Americans, though many believe the rate is higher (closer to one in 20), according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. If a person’s blood pressure drops so low during anaphylaxis or their airway closes enough that they can’t get enough oxygen to their organs, they enter anaphylactic shock.
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