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  • Presentation

Recent Advances and Emerging Therapies in Medical Dermatology

Description

The talk reviewed recent medical dermatology advances with emphasis on new oral and immune-modulating therapies. For chronic spontaneous urticaria, rembrutinib, an oral BTK inhibitor, was highlighted as a potentially practice-changing option because it acts quickly, works in both IgE- and IgG-mediated disease, requires no lab monitoring, and improves itch, hives, sleep, and quality of life; the main safety concern discussed was mild mucocutaneous bleeding rather than major thrombotic or malignant risk. In psoriasis, the speaker described icodacitinib, an oral IL-23 receptor antagonist, as the first oral option approaching biologic-level efficacy, though likely somewhat less effective than injectable biologics and dependent on empty-stomach dosing. A separate high-dose IL-23 “knockout” study suggested that short bursts of intense therapy may deplete tissue-resident memory T cells and induce prolonged remission for some patients. The lecture also covered OX40-pathway drugs, which may broadly reset inflammatory disease but raised safety concerns after cases of Kaposi sarcoma, limiting enthusiasm. By contrast, the IL-2 agonist respeg (designed to expand regulatory T cells) showed encouraging, gradually deepening responses in atopic dermatitis with frequent but usually tolerable injection-site reactions. In alopecia areata, the newest data for apacitinib suggested strong early efficacy and potentially best-in-class results, while long-term follow-up for baricitinib and ritlecitinib remained reassuring for sustained benefit and safety.

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Conclusions

  • The presentation concludes that remibrutinib offers a fast-acting oral BTK-inhibitor option for chronic spontaneous urticaria with strong symptom improvement and a generally manageable safety profile, though mucocutaneous bleeding should be discussed.
  • It concludes that icotrokinra provides the first oral IL-23 receptor antagonist for psoriasis with efficacy that is better than deucravacitinib and comparable to ustekinumab, but still below the strongest injectable biologics.
  • It concludes that the KNOCKOUT study suggests high-dose intermittent IL-23 blockade may deplete tissue-resident memory T cells and induce prolonged psoriasis remission after only a few doses.
  • It concludes that the anti-OX40 strategy is biologically promising but currently undermined by Kaposi sarcoma safety concerns, leading to rocatinlimab withdrawal and greater caution for the class.
  • It concludes that rezpegaldesleukin represents a novel immune-tolerance approach in atopic dermatitis, with responses that deepen over time and may allow less frequent maintenance dosing.
  • It concludes that upadacitinib appears highly effective for alopecia areata, producing deep hair-regrowth responses with substantial rates of SALT 10 and SALT 0 improvement.
  • It concludes that baricitinib has durable five-year efficacy and reassuring long-term safety in alopecia areata, with no major new safety signals emerging.
  • It concludes that ritlecitinib also shows progressive long-term benefit in alopecia areata, although its response appears slower and less deep than upadacitinib.
  • Overall, the presentation concludes that dermatology is moving toward more oral, mechanism-based therapies that can produce deeper and sometimes more durable disease control than older approaches.
  • It concludes that future treatment selection will increasingly depend on shared decision-making that balances efficacy, route of administration, durability, and class-specific safety concerns.
  • Darragh A et al. Adapted with permission. Creative Commons license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
  • Giménez-Arnau et al. REMIX-1 and REMIX-2 Phase 3 trials. Creative Commons link.
  • Lancet. 2025. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01576-4.#10.1016/S0140-6736(25)01576-4
  • Lancet. 2018. DOI reference cited on comparison slides.
  • Nature Communications. 2025/2026. Phase 2 KNOCKOUT Study.
  • Springer URL (OX-40 pathway slide).
  • J Exp Med. 2013. PMID cited on rocatinlimab/Kaposi sarcoma slide.
  • Nektar Therapeutics. REZOLVE-AD Phase 2b. NCT06136741.
  • AbbVie. UP-AA Phase 3 Studies 1 & 2. 2025.
  • Lilly. Baricitinib Integrated Safety Analysis. BRAVE Program Long-Term Extension.
  • Pfizer. ALLEGRO-LT 3-Year Data. 2025/2026.