Mauna Kea Technologies Announces it has Signed its 15th Hospital in Europe for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) Food Allergy Application
Confirming the Role and added value of Cellvizio for the Identification and Management of IBS Patients with Atypical Food Allergies
Mauna Kea Technologies continues to expand its European customer base in healthcare centers treating patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), a chronic functional disorder of the gastrointestinal system which affects approximately 7.1% of the European population1. To date, 15 centers in Europe, including prominent groups such as the Helios group in Germany and the group Hexagon Santé in France, have adopted Cellvizio to address the unmet need of assessing atypical food allergies in real time with a higher degree of accuracy compared to standard of care diagnostic methods.
In a study published in 2019, Annette Fritscher-Ravens, M.D., Ph.D., Head of Experimental Endoscopy Unit at the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel, Germany, confirmed with endomicroscopy that more than 50% of patients with IBS could have a nonclassical food allergy (Gastroenterology 2019; 157:109–118, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2019.03.046). Despite negative results from skin tests and serologic analysis of immunoglobulin E, the current standard of care for diagnosis, 70% of patients in this study showed an immediate visible disruption of the intestinal mucosal barrier upon exposure to food antigens using endomicroscopy. Two-thirds of those patients with IBS who had abnormal mucosal reactions to certain foods using endomicroscopy experienced significative improvement of IBS symptoms after a 12-month exclusion diet, confirming the atypical food allergy diagnosis.
“Many patients suffer from symptoms typical of IBS. Often there is an underlying atypical food allergy or allergy-like reaction limited to the intestine, which can not be detected by standard allergy testing. Cellvizio allows to more accurately differentiate patients with atypical food hypersensitivity from IBS patients, allowing physicians to provide tailored treatment for each patient and to develop new therapeutic approaches,” said Christian Sina, M.D., Gastroenterologist & Director, Fresenius Kabi Professor of Nutritional Medicine.
“The growing adoption of Cellvizio for this novel application combined with the large population suffering from IBS symptoms represent a compelling market size and business opportunity for the company,” said Robert L. Gershon, Chief Executive Officer of Mauna Kea Technologies. “ Mauna Kea will continue to expand its business in Europe with the aim of establishing Cellvizio as the leading technique in identifying atypical food allergies providing patients with a long-awaited answer to their condition. IBS represents 25% to 50% of all referrals to gastroenterologists and is second only to the common cold for the number of days of work missed2. Using Cellvizio to identify those patients with an atypical food allergy can significantly relieve the health economic burden in Europe, reducing direct medical costs to healthcare systems and indirect costs related to work absenteeism or work impairment while improving many patients’ quality of life”.
1. Sperber AD, Dumitrascu D, Fukudo S, et al The global prevalence of IBS in adults remains elusive due to the heterogeneity of studies: a Rome Foundation working team literature review Gut 2017;66:1075-1082.
2. American College of Gastroenterology Task Force on Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Brandt LJ, Chey WD, Foxx-Orenstein AE, Schiller LR, Schoenfeld PS, Spiegel BM, Talley NJ, Quigley EM. An evidence-based position statement on the management of irritable bowel syndrome. Am J Gastroenterol. 2009 Jan;104 Suppl 1:S1-35.
