All families supporting a loved one who copes with anaphylaxis have the same dream \u2013 that one day there will be a cure for (or greater relief for) severe allergies.\u00a0 This will only happen through\u00a0medical research.<\/p>\n
It is this common family dream that\u00a0prompted the Canadian Anaphylaxis Initiative <\/a>to call on the federal government to provide a long term commitment to allergy research. We support a strategic response from our government and more dollars for allergy research.\u00a0 We also want to see\u00a0development of standardized and evidence-based guidelines for diagnosis, management and treatment of food allergies and anaphylaxis needs. \u00a0\u00a0We want to see further sharing of allergy data with medical teams\u00a0that are\u00a0conducting anaphylaxis research\u00a0around the world. Every month there seems to be a new announcement from Britain, Australia, or from an American medical lab \u2013 and all of this research news fuels the hope that a\u00a0“cure” will be found to\u00a0eliminate\u00a0anaphylactic reactions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Just last week, there was\u00a0fantastic\u00a0news regarding research in Canada. It was great\u00a0to hear\u00a0of the announcement awarding\u00a0AllerGen\u00a0$36.5 million in long-term funding to continue its work focused on allergies.\u00a0 AllerGen\u2019s recent advances include improving asthma diagnosis and predicting attacks, unravelling the genetic connections to allergies and asthma, and revealing the impact of socio-economic factors on the development of the immune system.<\/p>\n At the March 23rd announcement ceremony, Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology, stated:\u00a0 \u201cAllerGen’s research will help improve the lives of millions of Canadians suffering from the complications of allergic diseases through innovation.”<\/p>\n Judah Denburg, Scientific Director and CEO of AllerGen\u00a0stated: “Over the next seven years, AllerGen aims to focus on commercialization and knowledge mobilization activities. AllerGen’s research and development efforts will also create new “high value” jobs, prepare the next generation of researchers, entrepreneurs and experts to fill them, and leave international legacies of socio-economic benefits and improved quality of life for individuals and their families living with allergies, asthma and anaphylaxis.”<\/p>\n To read the full press release and background note, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n