FROM BRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY
Topical tofacitinib showed significant improvements across all endpoints and for pruritus at week 4, compared with vehicle, results of a phase IIa trial have shown.
Tofacitinib is a Janus kinase inhibitor that affects the interleukin (IL)–4, IL-5, and IL-31 signaling pathways, interfering with the immune response that leads to inflammation.
The study could mean “that inhibition of the JAK-STAT pathway may be a new therapeutic target for AD,” wrote the study’s lead author, Robert Bissonnette, MD , president of Innovaderm Research in Montreal. The study was published in the British Journal of Dermatology ( 2016 Nov;175[5]:902-11 ).
In the multicenter, double-blind, controlled study of 69 adults with mild to moderate atopic dermatitis randomly assigned to either 2% tofacitinib or vehicle ointment twice daily, the study group achieved an 81.7% mean reduction in baseline Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) score, compared with 29.9% of controls over the 4-week study period (P less than .001). EASI scores in the study group were about 80% at a score of 50, 60% at a score of 75, and 40% at a score of 90.
By week 4, about three-quarters of the study group were either clear or almost clear of their skin condition, according to the physician global assessment scale, compared with 22% of controls (P less than .05).
There also was a rapid reduction in patient-reported pruritus in the tofacitinib group per the Itch Severity Item scale, compared with controls, at weeks 2 and 4 (P less than .001 for each time point).
Tolerability was similar across the study, and treatment-related adverse effects were mild, although 44% of the tofacitinib group did report experiencing some form of infection, infestation, or other complication. Two people in the study group dropped out because of the severity of their treatment-emergent adverse events. There were no reported severe or serious infections.
Dr. Bissonnette has numerous pharmaceutical industry relationships, including with Pfizer, the study’s sponsor.
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