A medication used to treat asthma can now be used to help people with food allergies avoid severe reactions, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday. Xolair, the brand name for the drug omalizumab, became the first medication approved to reduce allergic reactions caused by accidental exposure to food triggers. An estimated 17 million people in the U.S. have the type of food allergies that can cause rapid, serious symptoms, including severe, whole-body reactions that are potentially deadly. Wood estimated that 25% to 50% of people with food allergies, particularly children and young adults, would elect to use Xolair. The drug has been used “off-label” to treat food allergies, said Dr. Ruchi Gupta, director of the Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research at Northwestern University.

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Persons: Xolair, ”, Robert Wood, Wood, Ruchi Gupta Organizations: U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, FDA, National Institutes of Health, Center for Food Allergy, Asthma Research, Northwestern University, drugmakers Novartis, Roche, Genentech, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: U.S