NEW TREATMENT FOR ATOPIC DERMATITIS

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first and only targeted biologic treatment for adults with uncontrolled moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.

Today we are joined by Dr. Paul Yamauchi and his Patient, Calico Cooper. Dr. Yamauchi is a dermatologist at the Dermatology Institute and Skin Care Center and a clinical assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Dermatology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and Adjunct Associate Professor at the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica.

AD, the most common form of eczema, is a chronic inflammatory disease with symptoms often appearing as a rash on the skin. Moderate-to-severe AD is characterized by intense, persistent itching and skin dryness, cracking, redness, crusting, and oozing.[i] Itch is one of the most burdensome symptoms for patients and can be debilitating.[ii]

Although most symptoms appear on the skin, AD is caused by an underlying inflammation throughout the body that is believed to be driven by an overactive immune system. People with moderate-to-severe AD live with sometimes unbearable, physical symptoms.

Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved DUPIXENT® (dupilumab), the first and only targeted biologic medicine for adults with moderate-to-severe AD that is not well controlled with prescription therapies used on the skin (topical), or who cannot use topical therapies. DUPIXENT is a targeted medicine that helps to address the underlying inflammation that causes AD, and in clinical studies demonstrated a significant reduction in some of the main signs and symptoms of the disease for adults suffering from uncontrolled moderate-to-severe AD.

For Calico Cooper, coping with the symptoms of her moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis is all encompassing. “My atopic dermatitis covered the majority of my body as itchy, dry lesions and resulted in cracking around sensitive areas such as my mouth. To seek relief, I would wrap my body in a sheet that had been soaked in cold water.”

Related links:  Dupixent