A potential cure for peanut allergies may soon be on the way. Peanuts are among the most common and serious food allergies that children around the world suffer from. Symptoms can range from mild hives (runny nose) to life-threatening (anaphylaxis) forcing a majority of schools to become “nut-free” zones.

California-based Aimmune Therapeutics develops desensitization treatments to help protect people with food allergies by potentially reducing the risk of allergic reactions, making accidental exposures to allergens less dangerous. Aimmune conducted a major study and found that daily capsules of peanut flour helped children tolerate nuts.

According to a press release, Aimmune completed a “Phase 3 study and met the primary efficacy endpoint, as 67.2% of AR101 patients ages 4–17 tolerated at least a 600-mg dose of peanut protein in the exit food challenge, compared to 4.0% of placebo patients.”

“It’s great to have patients go from managing to tolerate at most the amount of peanut protein in a tenth of a peanut without reacting to successfully eating the equivalent of between two to four peanuts with nothing more than mild, transient symptoms, if any at all. Patients and their families are highly motivated to pursue an effective treatment for peanut allergy, and AR101 could give them a comfortable margin of safety in case of accidental exposures,” said A. Wesley Burks, M.D., Executive Dean and Curnen Distinguished Professor of Pediatrics, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, and a principal investigator for the study.

Aimmune intends to file for U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the treatment by the end of this year, and for approval in Europe early next year.