Eczema drug raises hopes of effective and long-lasting treatment – inews

NewsScienceTests found it significantly reduced the severity of the disease in a matter of weeks

Wednesday, 23rd October 2019, 7:00 pm

Scientists have raised hopes of an effective new treatment for the most common form of eczema after tests found it significantly reduced the severity of the disease in a matter of weeks.

All 12 of the atopic dermatitis patients injected with the new drug saw a reduction in symptoms of 50 per cent of more - and in 83 per cent of cases the improvement took just 29 days.

But while the results show promise, the researchers cautioned that a much bigger study was needed to confirm the findings - and they are now working on a clinical trial involving 300 patients to do this.

"Patients with atopic dermatitis experienced significant improvement in their symptoms after a single dose," said Professor Graham Ogg, of the University of Oxford, who led the research.

About 1.5 million people in the UK are thought to have atopic dermatitis - a long-term condition where skin inflammation results in dry, cracked, red, itchy and painful skin.

More effective, less frequent

A range of treatments for atopic dermatitis are already available which can be of help to many patients. However, the researchers are hopeful that their new treatment will be more effective and longer-lasting, so it won't need to be administered as often.

Damaged skin cells release a substance called IL-33 which activates the body's immune cells to come and fight a possible infection. But sometimes the immune cells are over-activated - for example in people with atopic dermatatis - causing inflammation.

The new drug is based on an artificially created antibody called etokimab and is classed as a targeted therapy because it targets and effectively smothers the IL-33 molecules behind the condition.

This calms down the body's immune response and curbs the eczema.

Healthcare industry reaction

Emma Wedgeworth, consultant dermatologist at the British Skin Foundation, said: "There is no doubt in my mind that targeted therapies like this are the future of treatment for severe eczema.

For so long, we have relied on strong general immunosuppressants to treat severe cases.....The emergence of new therapies is hugely exciting for patients and clinicians alike."

Professor Patrick Chinnery, clinical director at the Medical Research Council, which part funded the trial, said the results were "exciting".

He hopes the new drug may potentially be adapted to treat other diseases relating to the immune system such as the skin diseases psoriasis and hidradenitis suppurativa - and maybe some immune diseases affecting other organs as well.

"The trial suggests that [the same mechanism] may have an important role in a number of immune-related disorders which will also lead to new avenues of research for other conditions," he said.

The study is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

The trial was funded by the antibody development company AnaptysBio.

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Eczema drug raises hopes of effective and long-lasting treatment - inews