Why Mark Cuban's investment in childhood allergy prevention company hits close to home
Ready, Set, Food! is a company focused on childhood food allergy prevention
EXCLUSIVE: For celebrity investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban, helping to prevent food allergies in children is personal.
“Since my daughter has a severe peanut allergy, I know firsthand how life-changing food allergies can be,” Cuban told FOX Business of his decision to invest in Ready, Set, Food!, a company focused on childhood food allergy prevention, following the company’s pitch on ABC’s “Shark Tank” in January.
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“I’d heard about the clinical trials showing that food allergy prevention was possible, which as a food allergy parent was very exciting, but this was the first time I saw a product that could help make food allergy prevention easy for all parents,” he added.
Indeed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that some 8 percent of children in the U.S. — about 1 in 13 — suffer from food allergies. And these allergies can be severe, leading to anaphylaxis — a possibly life-threatening allergic reaction.
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Though there is no cure for food allergies, a growing body of research suggests that introducing children to certain allergens — particularly peanut, egg, and milk, which combined represent more than 80 percent of childhood food allergies, according to the company — within the first year of a child’s life may prevent them from developing allergies to these foods in the future.
Parents who chose to use the company’s products simply add a daily packet to their baby's bottle or food to gently introduce peanut, milk and egg to their diet. (Ready, Set, Food!)
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recently advised the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in its new report that parents should introduce peanuts and eggs “in an age-appropriate form” after 4 months of age, finding that doing so could reduce the risk of food allergy. These findings are in line with three different randomized controlled trials that were published in the New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet, Daniel Zakowski, the founder and CEO of Ready Set Food!, told FOX Business.
“Whenever you feed an allergenic food to a baby, there’s always a chance they’ll have a reaction, but there are two ways that our product helps make that process as gentle as possible. Based on extensive research, any allergic reaction for a baby will be less severe if they are fed the allergen in a small dose at a younger age, and that’s exactly what our product does,” he added.
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“We help parents feed a very small dose to babies at an age that has been proven to have fewer reactions, so it’s the safest and most gentle way to introduce allergens to your baby.”
No babies are born with food allergies, but most are at risk of developing them. In fact, more than half of children diagnosed with a food allergy don't have a direct family member with one. That said, certain factors — such as family history, gender, and eczema (which is medically referred to as atopic dermatitis) — may adversely affect risk, said Dr. Katie Marks-Cogan, a board-certified allergist and chief allergist and co-founder at Ready, Set, Food!
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“This is primarily because research shows that infants with eczema are at the highest risk for developing food allergies. In fact, up to 67 percent of infants with severe eczema and 25 percent of infants with mild eczema will develop a food allergy. Therefore, infants with eczema need food allergy prevention and in turn, early allergen introduction, the most,” she told FOX Business.
“However, parents of infants with severe eczema must consult with their pediatrician first, prior to introducing allergenic foods like peanut,” she warned.
“Since my daughter has a severe peanut allergy, I know firsthand how life-changing food allergies can be” Cuban exclusively told Fox Business. (Ready, Set, Food!)
“Fortunately, parents can now help reduce their infants’ risk of developing peanut and other food allergies, according to recent landmark studies on early and sustained allergen exposure. These studies showed up to an 80 percent reduction in specific food allergies by exposing infants to potentially allergenic foods early and often.”
Parents who chose to use the company’s products simply add a daily packet to their baby's bottle or food to gently introduce peanut, milk, and egg to their diet.
“It's scary for any parent to have to keep EpiPens up to date, to make sure my daughter always has one with her, to hope she doesn't accidentally make a mistake or a restaurant makes a mistake. It's terrifying. Ready, Set, Food! can keep future generations from facing this challenge,” added Cuban.
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Ready, Set, Food! raised $3 million this month in a second funding round led by Cuban; Danone Manifesto Ventures, the corporate venture arm of multinational food company Danone; and AF Ventures.
The company, which claims it has already helped to prevent more than 20,000 babies from developing severe food allergies to peanut, egg, and milk, hopes the new round of funding will help it to do the same for an estimated 200,000 babies each year.