Ruxolitinib Cream 1.5% Safe and Effective for Teenagers with Eczema

Health Day News — Long-term intermittent use of ruxolitinib cream is well tolerated and provides disease control in adolescents with atopic dermatitis (AD), according to a study published online May 2 in the journal American Journal of Clinical Dermatology.

Lawrence F. Eichenfield, MD, of the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues evaluated the safety and effectiveness of ruxolitinib cream 1.5 percent compared to vehicle and disease control treatment of ruxolitinib cream in adolescents using pooled data from phase 3 studies. The analysis included 245 adolescents (aged 12 to 17 years) who had AD for at least two years .

Researchers found that at week 8, significantly more patients who applied ruxolitinib cream 1.5 percent compared to vehicle achieved treatment success according to Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) (50 .6 versus 14.0 percent), ≥75 percent improvement in eczema area and severity index (60.9 versus 34.9). percent) and an improvement of 4 points or more on the numerical itch rating scale (52.1 versus 17.4 percent). During the long-term safety period, the mean trough plasma concentrations of ruxolitinib at steady state at weeks 12 and 52 were 27.2 and 15.5 nM, respectively. With ruxolitinib, the percentage of patients achieving an IGA score of 0 or 1 was maintained or increased. Application site reactions over 52 weeks occurred in 1.8 percent of participants applying ruxolitinib 1.5 percent cream at any time. No patients reported serious adverse effects.

“Treatment with 1.5 percent ruxolitinib cream in adolescent patients with mild to moderate atopic dermatitis had anti-inflammatory and antipruritic effects comparable to those observed in the overall study population,” the authors write .

The study was funded by Incyte, the manufacturer of ruxolitinib.

Summary/Full text