Contact
Tina Bumgardner
Asthma Inc
206.528.4725l
tberryessa@asthmainc.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lisa Geschke Sawyer
SeaFAC PR Manager
206-940-2237
lisagsawyer@hotmail.com
Seattle Food Allergy Consortium Member, Northwest Asthma & Allergy Center
(NAAC) Receives Food Allergy Grant From Food Allergy Research and Education
(FARE)
A FARE center of excellence, Seattle-based NAAC offers treatments and affiliated
business, ASTHMA Inc Clinical Research Center, runs clinical desensitization trials for food
allergy, including the Viaskin Peanut patch and Stanford University’s oral immunotherapy.
SEATTLE, WA and McLean, VA — July 15, 2015 — The Seattle Food Allergy
Consortium (SeaFAC) members, Asthma Inc Clinical Research Center and its parent
company, Northwest Asthma & Allergy Center, have been selected by Food Allergy
Research & Education (FARE) as a FARE Clinical Network center of excellence. The
FARE Clinical Network aims to change the face of food allergy care and research by
accelerating the development of drugs for patients with food allergies as well as improving
the quality of care for this serious illness. Members of the FARE Clinical Network are
selected through a comprehensive, rigorous application process. FARE will initially fund 22
centers of excellence with an investment of over $2 million dollars annually.
Puget Sound-based Northwest Asthma & Allergy Center’s American Board of Allergy and
Immunology certified physicians have been treating all allergic diseases for 45 years in 8
offices throughout Washington State, including food allergies. NAAC’s office visits for food
allergies have nearly doubled in five years, from 6,000 in 2008 to 11,800 in 2012.
NAAC’s clinical research arm, Asthma Inc Clinical Research Center (Asthma Inc) has
conducted over 500 FDA approved clinical trials, and works directly with the National
Institutes of Health / Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and the National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases. As a member of the Seattle Food Allergy Consortium (SeaFAC),
Asthma Inc drove the Pacific Northwest’s first clinical desensitization trials for food allergy.
““FARE’s leadership in establishing this important, collaborative initiative will accelerate the
evaluation of promising therapies and raise the standard of care for individuals with food
allergies nationwide,” according to Dr. Stephen Tilles, a partner physician at Northwest
Asthma & Allergy and Executive Director at ASTHMA Inc. “This is an exciting time and we
look forward to working with FARE and our fellow network members to improve the
diagnosis and treatment of food allergies, and to advance life-changing treatments.”
“We need to push for the development of drugs and other therapies to prevent lifethreatening food allergy reactions, while ensuring that children and adults with food allergy
receive the best care possible,” said James R. Baker, Jr., MD, CEO and chief medical
officer of FARE. “To that end, FARE will direct the Clinical Network centers of excellence
NWAA FARE Food Allergy Grant
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across the country to a common goal of ensuring that patients with food allergies have
access to state-of-the-art diagnosis, treatments and research.”
Ongoing, SeaFAC members, including Northwest Asthma & Allergy Center and the Asthma
Inc Clinical Research Center, will help to drive the area’s first desensitization clinical trials,
fund its own members’ research to increase our understanding of the mechanisms that
cause food allergy, and financially supports allergist training and research advancement at
the University of Washington.
To support the Seattle Food Allergy Consortium’s efforts, please visit their Web sites at
http://www.seafac.org/donate/.
About Northwest Asthma & Allergy
Seattle based Northwest Asthma & Allergy’s American Board of Allergy and Immunology
certified physicians have been treating all allergic diseases for 45 years in 8 offices
throughout Washington State, including food allergies. Visit: www.nwasthma.com
About Asthma Inc
Since 1972, ASTHMA Inc Clinical Research Center has conducted nearly 500 FDA
approved clinical trials. It is a non-profit organization focusing on studies involving asthma,
seasonal and perennial allergies, food allergies, eczema and sinusitis. Asthma Inc
conducts research studies for companies that want to test experimental medications,
devices or treatments for asthma, allergies and other allergic diseases. Visit:
www.asthmainc.org
About SeaFAC
The vision of the Seattle Food Allergy Consortium (SeaFAC) is to combine research and
education resources in the Seattle community to find a cure for food allergy, a rapidly
increasing public health problem. Our member institutions include ASTHMA, Inc. Clinical
Research Center/Northwest Allergy & Asthma Center, Benaroya Research Institute/
Virginia Mason, Seattle Children’s Hospital/ Seattle Children’s Research Institute, and UW
Medicine. By combining Seattle-area resources, including outstanding basic and
translational research in food allergy, pediatric/adult clinical research centers and an
allergy/immunology training program, SeaFAC will create a world-class food allergy center
locally. Together, the consortium will be very competitive in the federal and non-federal
funding environment and bring together leading clinicians, researchers and educators to
revolutionize food allergy care and research. Visit: www.SeaFAC.org
About FARE
Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) works on behalf of the 15 million Americans
with food allergies, including all those at risk for life-threatening anaphylaxis. This
potentially deadly disease affects 1 in every 13 children in the U.S. – or roughly two in
every classroom. FARE’s mission is to improve the quality of life and the health of
individuals with food allergies, and to provide them hope through the promise of new
treatments. Our work is organized around three core tenets: LIFE – support the ability of
individuals with food allergies to live safe, productive lives with the respect of others
through our education and advocacy initiatives; HEALTH – enhance the healthcare access
of individuals with food allergies to state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment; and HOPE –
encourage and fund research in both industry and academia that promises new therapies
to improve the allergic condition. For more information, please visit www.foodallergy.org
NAAC FARE Food Allergy Grant - Page
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