New therapies for atopic dermatitis: Additional treatment classes

Publication date: March 2018
Source:Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Volume 78, Issue 3, Supplement 1
Author(s): Paras P. Vakharia, Jonathan I. Silverberg
BackgroundA wide array of miscellaneous agents is being studied for the treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD), including targeted topical, oral systemic, and biologic agents.ObjectiveTo review the known efficacy and safety to date for such agents being studied for the treatment of AD.MethodsA nonsystematic review of the literature was performed. PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov were searched for studies assessing agents not described previously for the treatment of AD. Randomized controlled trials were primarily sought, but other study types were also included if they contained pertinent data. Agents are presented by mechanism of action, with analysis of mechanism of action and data regarding efficacy and safety in patients with AD.ResultsData regarding the following agents are presented: omiganan (an antimicrobial peptide), tapinarof (a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent), PR022 (hypochlorous acid), asimadoline (a κ-opioid agonist), DS107 (dihomo-γ-linolenic acid), ZPL-389 (a histamine H4 receptor antagonist), secukinumab (an interleukin 17A inhibitor), and fezakinumab (interleukin 22 inhibitor).LimitationsLimited clinical data exist for many of the described agents.ConclusionsAs recent research has improved our understanding of AD pathogenesis, various agents with unique mechanisms of action have been studied for the treatment of AD. Many of these hold great therapeutic promise for AD, and continued research and development is warranted.