JAK inhibitors show promise in psoriasis, atopic dermatitis

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — JAK inhibitors are being studied to treat patients with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, with many showing promising outcomes, according to a presenter at South Beach Symposium.

“There are a lot of different JAK inhibitors coming for atopic dermatitis,” Neal Bhatia, MD, director of clinical dermatology at Therapeutics Clinical Research in San Diego, said during his presentation. “I think the key ... is optimizing their utility, making sure that we’re dealing with safety profiles that we can manage and supporting the companies that actually do the job.”

For psoriasis, Jakafi (ruxolitinib, Incyte) comes in both oral and topical treatments, and Xeljanz (tofacitinib, Pfizer) is an FDA-approved drug given orally to inhibit the JAK-STAT pathway. In addition, BMS-986165 (Bristol-Myers Squibb), an oral selective TYK2 inhibitor, has been shown to reduce expression of IL-19 and IL-36A.

For AD, there is Olumiant (baricitinib, Eli Lilly), which showed efficacy when compared with placebo in trials. Bhatia presented findings showing that baricitinib reduced inflammation within 1 to 4 weeks. Other promising options include Rinvoq (upadacitinib, AbbVie), an oral JAK1-selective inhibitor, and abrocitinib (Pfizer), which shows promise in different dose ranges. Bhatia also mentioned ASN002 (Asana BioSciences), an oral JAK/SYK inhibitor that suppresses inflammation and improves epidermal barriers in patients with AD.

JAK inhibitors may also potentially treat patients with vitiligo and alopecia areata, according to Bhatia.

“They key to this is don’t be afraid of anything,” he said. “Be sure to think outside the box and make sure that we’re being good doctors and not treating patients typically.” – by Erin T. Welsh

Reference:

Bhatia N. Therapeutic breakthrough of the new JAK inhibitors. Presented at: South Beach Symposium; Feb. 6-9, 2020; Miami Beach, Florida.

Disclosure: Bhatia reports affiliations with Aclaris, Almirall, Biofrontera, BioPharmX, Dermira, Encore, EPI Health, Ferndale, Isdin, La Roche-Posay, Leo, Mayne, Menlo, Novartis, Ortho-Derm, Pierre-Fabre, Pfizer, Regeneron/Sanofi and Sun Pharma.