TIP comes to the East Coast

For years, choosing Food Allergy Institute meant choosing Long Beach — more than half its patients traveled from outside California. From 15 September 2026 it does not. That changes the travel arithmetic for one metro area, and almost nothing else.

Short answer

Food Allergy Institute opens its New Jersey clinic on 15 September 2026 — its first location outside Southern California, bringing the Tolerance Induction Program within driving distance of the New York metro area. What changes: the travel burden for East Coast families, who previously flew to Long Beach every 8–12 weeks for 4–6 visits a year. What does not: the published subscription of $979–$1,079 a month with a 6-month minimum, FAI's own first-year estimates of roughly $11,748–$15,425, the 2.5–4 year typical duration, and the evidence questions that follow the program into any zip code. A new location also adds its own questions — staffing, protocol consistency, waitlist seeding, and which East Coast insurers are actually in-network. Latitude already operates four New York-area clinics, so East Coast families now have genuine in-person OIT choice; Allergy Associates of La Crosse in Wisconsin is the in-person sublingual door; and Curex, the only fully at-home food allergy program, treats in every state — for many families the the program to start with. Curex is the only fully at-home food allergy program in the US.

Medically reviewed by Dr. Neeta Ogden, MD, FACAAI · Last reviewed September 2026

The travel arithmetic, mostly

Why one clinic in one state matters this much

Figures below are published by FAI itself, except the visit interval, which comes from family accounts. Together they explain why an East Coast location has been the most-requested change to the program.

Opening date of FAI's first clinic outside Southern California
Sept 15, 2026Opening date of FAI's first clinic outside Southern California
Share of FAI patients who have traveled from outside California
>50%Share of FAI patients who have traveled from outside California
Typical interval between in-person visits families describe
8–12 wksTypical interval between in-person visits families describe
In-person visits per year over a 2.5–4 year program
4–6In-person visits per year over a 2.5–4 year program

Figures from foodallergyinstitute.com, checked September 2026. Visit intervals as described by traveling families in public threads.

The program that arrives is the program that exists

What in-person choice now looks like from New York

For the first time, NY-metro families can compare two dedicated OIT programs within driving distance — plus the sublingual routes that never required a drive to a coast.

The questions a brand-new location earns

A new location of an established program is usually fine. These questions are how you replace 'usually' with a written answer.

About the clinic itself

Staffing and protocol consistency

  • Who runs itWhich clinicians staff New Jersey, and how long did they train on the protocol at Long Beach? TIP is proprietary — its execution lives in its people.
  • Complex casesDoes a difficult case stay in New Jersey or route to California? If the answer is California, some flights come back.
  • The diagnostic workupFAI's plan-building rests on an extensive lab panel through affiliated labs. Ask what happens on-site versus what ships west, and what that does to turnaround.
  • Food challengesFood challenges happen in clinic on every protocol, every provider — confirm the new location runs them from day one at full capacity.
About money and logistics

The numbers to get in writing

  • Waitlist seedingJournalism from 2019 counted ~1,350 waiting families and ~13-month waits; parents describe 1.5–2 years in that era. Ask whether NJ opens a fresh list or inherits transfer priority.
  • Pricing parityIs New Jersey on the same $979–$1,079/month structure, with the same exclusions for dosing replacements, SLIT materials, and labs?
  • Insurance networksThe published PPO list includes Blue Shield of California and Health Net. Ask specifically which New Jersey and New York plans bill in-network.
  • Maintenance feesSeveral families report a ~$4,000 annual fee after reaching remission, described as not disclosed upfront. Ask for the full multi-year cost, maintenance included, in writing.

What families report actually paying

What travels east besides the protocol

A new address does not reset a program's record. These items are the ones families most often weigh — stated plainly, attributed, and checkable.

Who a driveable clinic still does not reach

The New Jersey opening solves geography for one metro area. The national picture it sits inside looks like this.

States with no OIT clinic listed in the FAST directory (35 states have at least one)
15 + DCStates with no OIT clinic listed in the FAST directory (35 states have at least one)
Median distance to the nearest allergist in a Midwest access study
57.3 miMedian distance to the nearest allergist in a Midwest access study
Of 67 patients offered commercial peanut OIT who declined it
52%Of 67 patients offered commercial peanut OIT who declined it
Cited time burden — travel, visit count, lifelong treatment — as the #1 reason
28.5%Cited time burden — travel, visit count, lifelong treatment — as the #1 reason

FAST directory is self-registered and incomplete. Midwest study: 379 practice sites, county-centroid method, IQR 30.1–109.8 miles. Decline data: Leef et al., JACI: In Practice, 2022. Full geography breakdown: [no OIT clinic near me](/learn/no-oit-clinic-near-me).

Three ways to close the distance

What they offer

What this provider is known for, from the public record.

  • Clinic oral immunotherapy

    Faster, larger threshold rise

    In the one head-to-head peanut trial in children, oral immunotherapy raised the reaction threshold roughly 141-fold at 12 months against roughly 22-fold for sublingual drops (with more side effects and withdrawals).

    Source: Narisety 2015, PMID 25528358

  • Food Allergy Institute

    Supervised pace

    In-person supervision at 4–6 visits a year permits a pace no at-home program should attempt; the clinic publishes typical completion in 2.5–4 years.

    Source: foodallergyinstitute.com

  • Food Allergy Institute

    Food challenges built in, complex cases

    Supervised food challenges and introductions are part of the program rather than referred out, for ages 15 months to 50 years, including complex multi-allergen cases.

    Source: foodallergyinstitute.com

How food allergy drops are regulated

Personalized allergy drops are compounded for each individual patient. Such formulations are not reviewed by the FDA. However, they remain common practice for allergists and ENT allergists because they provide a convenient alternative to allergy shots. Allergy drops are the standard of care in many EU countries.

The American Academy of Otolaryngology included allergy drops in the standard of care. The FDA has approved four sublingual tablets for single allergens; allergy drops are compounded, target multiple allergies at once, and remain off-label.

Has the FDA written to Curex about allergy drops? Once, in 2021: an untitled letter about how the drops were marketed. Curex changed its website, responded in April 2021, and has had no FDA correspondence about allergy drops since.

Does the 2025 FDA warning letter concern allergy drops? No. The September 2025 warning letter concerned marketing language for compounded GLP-1 weight-loss products; Curex made the requested changes.

Every letter and response: Curex and the FDA. The short version: Is Curex legit?

The practical next step

Frequently Asked Questions

If you experience sudden difficulty breathing, throat swelling, or other signs of anaphylaxis, call 911. A prescribed epinephrine auto-injector is the first-line treatment — not antihistamines.

This content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider with questions about a medical condition. Content reviewed by board-certified allergists at Curex.

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