Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy, or CMPA, is a significant health issue for newborns and young children. Because it often goes undetected, parents and healthcare professionals might not realize that other symptoms such as eczema, reflux, constipation, diarrhea, and crying are caused by CMPA. I believe I had as a child, though I do not remember it, because my parents told me later in life that for my first several months I was unable to drink milk and had to have other sustenance. If I did, I wasn’t alone. Approximately 2-3 percent of infants and young children are affected by CMPA, according to DBV Technologies.
DBV has developed an atopy patch test that can detect CMPA. “Atopy (atopic syndrome) is a syndrome characterized by a tendency to be ‘hyperallergic’,” according to Wikipedia. DBV recently granted Nestlé Health Science worldwide commercialization rights to its CMPA patch-test. Nestlé already has allergy testing tools as well as specific nutritional formulations that can be prescribed for use with youngsters with specific allergies. Previously, Nestlé helped promote the Cow’s Milk-related Symptom Score (CoMiSS®) awareness tool that healthcare professionals can use to recognize and assess CMPA-related symptoms. The new patch test takes that effort further.
Nestlé Health Science CEO Greg Behar said: “This innovation can become the breakthrough diagnostic for CMPA. Early diagnosis and nutritional intervention helps get infants happily back on the path of healthy development, alleviate the anxieties of parents, and reduce healthcare costs. Our reach in the field of pediatric allergy makes Nestlé Health Science an ideal commercialization partner for DVB’s innovative diagnostic patch. This collaboration is another step in our strategy of advancing the role of nutrition through science-based innovation.”
