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at the University of Texas Health Science ALLERGIES
Center in San Antonio in 1984 and his
course was set. visit us at www.bcms.org 23

A focus on immunology was natural,
considering the heritage and name of Syl-
vana Research. “My mother died of
leukemia at 42; the institute is primarily
named for her, in her memory.” The focus
of research, the identification of symptom
relieving drugs, has shifted considerably
over the last three decades.

“There’s been a long cycle of drugs in
development and they’ve grown very ef-
fective now … there’s little inducement to
develop another multimillion dollar phar-
maceutical when nasal steroids are sold
over the counter for less than 20 dollars.”

“Normally we’d be doing lots of cedar
studies with hundreds of patients, but
there’s been a trail-off of new develop-
ments,” he continued. But that can lead
to monopolies on products as well …
note the recent Epi Pen crisis.

“We are conducting studies on peanut
allergy right now. Unfortunately, the only
treatment available now is the Epi Pen
which is prohibitively expensive for most
patients ($600!). Fortunately, there are
two new products hopefully being ap-
proved in 2018.”

For more information, or to be consid-
ered for a research study, contact
info@sylvanaresearch.com … and keep
the tissues handy!

David Schultz, a certified HIPAA profes-
sional and CEO of Cyber Risk Associates
LLC, is a member of the BCMS Publications
Committee.