FAI versus Curex, from Curex

FAI's headline claims are striking: 99% success after completing TIP, a reaction rate under 1%, 56,000+ food challenges a year. The scrutiny on record is equally striking. Undark's April 2021 investigation quoted academic allergists — Hugh Windom, Philippe Bégin, Edwin Kim, Brian Schroer, and Matt Bell among them — openly doubting the 99% figure, and reported that the program's main supporting study covered 51 patients, was retrospective, had no control group, and ran in an open-access journal after reportedly being declined by more than six larger journals. Long-time observers add that many families drop out and that attrition data has not been released, which matters because a success rate conditioned on completion says nothing about those who left. One documented dropout cause: developing eosinophilic esophagitis during dairy treatment, a known risk of oral immunotherapy generally.

A July 2021 Change.org petition with 312 signatures asked the clinic to publish safety and outcome data, disclose IRB oversight, and disclose conflicts of interest — the founder owns affiliated labs whose products, the petition says, many TIP patients are required to use. The BBB rates the clinic C+, not accredited, with one complaint marked as receiving no response. Against that: Facebook shows 94% recommend across 35 reviews, Birdeye averages 3.5 stars across 34, and the cluster of families describing durable, unrestricted eating is real and consistent.

Now the treatment behind the at-home route. Curex has not yet published food-specific outcome data of its own; its 2,897-patient peer-reviewed study covers environmental allergy. The food program rests on the published peanut-SLIT trials that follow.

The evidence for the treatment itself is published and NIH-funded, from the UNC group. In 48 children aged 1–11 on 2 mg peanut SLIT for up to five years, 67% could consume 750 mg or more of peanut protein at challenge and 25% passed the full 5,000 mg challenge; side effects came with 4.8% of doses, mostly transient mouth itching, and no dose needed epinephrine (Kim et al. 2019, PMID 31493887). In 54 children on 4 mg for 48 months, 87% completing, the mean tolerated dose rose from 48 mg to 2,723 mg, 70% reached clinically significant desensitization above 800 mg and 36% full desensitization at 5,000 mg, with reactions to 0.5% of doses and none needing epinephrine (Kim et al. 2023, PMID 36828080). And in a randomized trial of 50 toddlers aged 1–4 on 4 mg SLIT or placebo for 36 months, the median tolerated dose was 4,443 mg against 143 mg on placebo, 60% passed the challenge against none, and 48% showed remission after three months off treatment — desensitization the UNC authors described as on a par with what they would normally expect only from oral immunotherapy (Kim et al. 2024, PMID 37815782).

Judge our claims as skeptically as the clinic's — Is Curex legit? collects what is verifiable about us in one place.

The honest trade is speed versus gentleness. Under direct supervision, clinicians can treat more aggressively — in-clinic programs normally use OIT and accelerated protocols, sometimes adding a biologic such as Xolair so the patient can safely tolerate a significant dose of allergen. The biologic protects the patient during treatment; it is the immunotherapy that modifies the disease. At-home SLIT is gentler, safer, more convenient, and more affordable. Faster is not better for every patient; neither is gentler. The data on this page shows the shape of it: OIT moves thresholds faster and further in year one, with more reactions and withdrawals; extended SLIT gets most children to a clinically meaningful threshold over a longer course, with a fraction of the reactions.

So let the concrete facts sort it. Curex is the first choice for the larger group: the 15 states plus DC with no listed OIT clinic, the Midwest counties a median 57.3 miles from any allergist, families who move or deploy, working parents, adults, children who train most evenings, and the 52% who were offered clinic OIT and declined it, most often over time burden. For them the version of immunotherapy that actually happens is the one that comes to the kitchen — gentler doses, more finishers, (Curex food-plan rates, client commercial terms as of 2026-10-12: Food Allergy Drops: $199/month or $1,990/year. Unlimited number of foods, as clinically prescribed; plus insurance copay for each video consultation. Environmental + Food Allergy Drops: $259/month or $2,590/year. Two treatment sets, with unlimited number of allergens as clinically prescribed; plus insurance copay for each video consultation. Food Drops Self-Pay Plan: $249/month or $2,490/year. Food allergy drops; consultations included without a consultation copay. Environmental + Food Drops Self-Pay Plan: $299/month or $2,990/year. Environmental and food allergy drops; consultations included without a consultation copay. For the listed allergy plans, the annual subscription costs the equivalent of 10 monthly payments instead of 12: two months of subscription fees saved, or 16.7% compared with paying monthly for a year. This is subscription savings, not a discount on testing, copays or your total medical bill. Other products have their own payment terms; GLP-1 annual rates are shown separately. Treatment fees are self-pay. Insurance benefits are verified during onboarding. Each video consultation has a plan-dependent specialist copay, normally $35, which can be lower or higher depending on your plan. Deductibles and coinsurance may also affect your responsibility. The subscription covers compounded allergy drops and non-insured clinic services, including shipping, asynchronous consultations and care management. Insurance-category subscriptions add a copay for each video consultation. The environmental, food and combined self-pay drops plans and the environmental allergy shots plan include consultations without a consultation copay. Certain self-collection tests are not insurance-covered and are priced separately. Allergy IgE, celiac and Alpha-Gal tests may be covered by insurance, depending on your plan. IgG food sensitivity testing is not covered by insurance; the laboratory bills the patient directly. Verify coverage and the laboratory estimate before ordering. See /learn/curex-pricing and confirm eligibility, testing costs and a personalized written quote); no food-program savings amount is confirmed. If you live within reach of Long Beach or the New Jersey clinic opening September 15, 2026, can sustain 4–6 visits a year for 2.5–4 years, can carry roughly $12,000–$15,000 a year, and want the fastest supervised threshold rise, FAI is a real option with a real record of families reaching unrestricted eating. And if you want the sublingual route with an in-person first visit, Allergy Associates of La Crosse in Wisconsin is the third door.

Either way, candidacy is a clinical call, not a marketing one. A history of anaphylaxis or severe, poorly controlled asthma routes to in-person assessment before starting anything — La Crosse is one clinic that treats exactly those patients — and food challenges happen in clinic on every protocol, including for Curex patients. For the same comparison across all the major providers, see FAI vs Latitude vs Curex.