Abrocitinib monotherapy efficacious for atopic dermatitis in all body locations

Patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis had a greater improvement with abrocitinib 100 mg or 200 mg than with placebo, according to pooled results presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology virtual congress.

A phase 2b and two phase 3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled monotherapy trials evaluated oral abrocitinib, a once-daily JAK1 inhibitor, in patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. The Eczema Area and Severity Index was used for assessment in four body regions: head and neck, trunk, lower limbs and upper limbs.

“Although the overall efficacy of abrocitinib has been described in terms of [Investigator Global Assessment] and composite EASI responses, the signs and extent of AD vary by body location,” Jonathan I. Silverberg, MD, PhD, MPH, and colleagues wrote.

Patients treated with 100 mg or 200 mg of abrocitinib had greater reductions in mean changes from baseline EASI subscores in all body regions; the reductions were also dose dependent.

Trunk, lower limb and upper limb subscores saw greater reductions at weeks 4, 8 and 12 compared with head and neck scores. The upper limbs saw the larger response at week 12.

“In this post hoc analysis, patients with moderate to severe AD treated with abrocitinib 200 mg or 100 mg had greater improvements (reduction) in the extent of disease and severity of AD signs in all body locations than patients treated with placebo,” the authors wrote.