Chelsie Derman is an associate editor for 

who covers allergy and  psychiatry. She joined MJH Life Sciences in September 2023 after graduating from The College of New Jersey with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and professional writing. In her free time, she enjoys creative writing and reading.

 and immunology. Phase 3 data on a one-time gene editing therapy for hereditary angioedema (HAE) made headlines, updated guidelines formalized a first-line oral treatment option, and investigators continued to push the boundaries of what individualized care looks like for patients managing 

 (CSU). Deeper in the literature, new mechanistic data on house dust mite sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) offers a clearer picture of what immune tolerance actually looks like at the cellular level.

 Reduction in monthly HAE attack rate with lonvoguran ziclumeran (lonvo-z) vs placebo in the phase 3 HAELO trial

 of lonvo-z-treated patients became both attack-free and free from long-term prophylaxis

 of patients enrolled in some OIT trials passed food challenges, indicating they were never truly food-allergic

 median time from HAE attack onset to treatment with sebetralstat (Ekterly) in the phase 3 KONFIDENT study

Whether you were heads-down at a conference or just working through a backlog, here are the 5 stories from May worth having on your radar.

HAE in 2026: New Therapies, Updated Guidelines, the Case for Early Treatment

The HAE treatment landscape is rapidly evolving, with updated international guidelines now recommending sebetralstat (Ekterly) as a first-line oral option for acute attacks in patients aged ≥ 12 years. Investigational therapy BW-20805, a small interfering RNA targeting prekallikrein, demonstrated 80 to 100% attack-free rates in phase 2 data. Most notably, the phase 3 HAELO trial of lonvoguran ziclumeran (lonvo-z), a one-time CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing therapy targeting the KLKB1 gene, showed an 87% reduction in monthly attack rate versus placebo. Intellia Therapeutics has begun a rolling BLA submission, with a potential US launch in 2027 pending FDA approval.

Half of Patients in Some OIT Trials Weren't Actually Food-Allergic. Here's What That Means for Practice

Food allergy management is shifting toward personalized, proactive strategies beyond strict avoidance. Christopher Brooks, MD, of The Ohio State University, highlighted the expanding role of omalizumab for multi-allergen patients and the importance of sequencing omalizumab with oral immunotherapy (OIT) based on individual patient goals and risk profiles.

Brooks emphasized that food challenges remain critically underused, noting that in some immunotherapy enrollment studies, roughly half of patients passed food challenges, indicating they were never truly allergic. He also stressed the need for better cross-specialty education around the limitations of blood testing and avoiding unnecessary dietary restrictions in patients without confirmed food allergy diagnoses.

How Close Is Intralymphatic Immunotherapy for Food Allergies?

Intralymphatic immunotherapy (ILIT), a delivery approach involving targeted lymph node injections already in use for environmental allergies, is in the earliest stages of investigation for food allergy treatment. Brooks discussed why ILIT has drawn research interest as a potentially shorter, more flexible alternative to conventional subcutaneous immunotherapy and oral immunotherapy. 

Current research is focused primarily on establishing safety before efficacy can be assessed. Brooks noted that ILIT's appeal stems from its reduced scheduling burden compared to traditional allergy shots, which require weekly visits for up to 12 months before transitioning to monthly maintenance dosing.

Biphasic Memory B-Cell Changes Seen During HDM SLIT, With Menno C. van Zelm, PhD

A longitudinal study of 38 patients with house dust mite (HDM) allergy found that 18 months of SLIT produced biphasic changes in allergen-specific type 2 memory B cells—an early expansion at 4 months followed by reduction by 18 months—alongside sustained symptom improvement. Increased IgG4 and CD29 expression on Der p 1– and Der p 2–specific type 2 memory B cells correlated with lower symptom scores. Investigator Menno C. van Zelm, PhD, of Monash University, noted the late decline in these cells paralleled falling serum IgE levels and may be key to achieving durable, post-treatment unresponsiveness.

Endotyping & Biomarkers in CSU, With Jonathan Bernstein, MD

At the 2026 Eastern Allergy Conference (EAC) in Palm Beach, Florida, Jonathan Bernstein, MD, of the University of Cincinnati discussed biomarker-guided management of CSU, a heterogeneous disease with two primary endotypes: type I autoallergic and type IIb autoimmune. Bernstein highlighted total serum IgE, thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibodies, and the CU Index as the most clinically informative biomarkers, noting composite scoring is more predictive of omalizumab response than individual markers alone. He cautioned that biomarker data for newer agents, including dupilumab and remibrutinib, remain limited and that longitudinal real-world studies are needed before biomarker-driven treatment selection becomes standard practice across community allergy settings.

Articles

May 2026 featured pivotal advances across HAE, food allergy, HDM immunotherapy, and CSU. Updated international HAE guidelines endorsed sebetralstat as a first-line oral on-demand therapy, while siRNA and CRISPR/Cas9 approaches signaled movement toward longer-interval or one-time disease control; lonvo-z reduced monthly attacks by 87% in phase 3 with a rolling BLA underway. Food allergy practice discussions emphasized underuse of oral food challenges and strategic pairing of omalizumab with OIT. Mechanistic HDM SLIT data linked biphasic type 2 memory B-cell dynamics to tolerance. CSU talks prioritized biomarker composites to refine omalizumab prediction.

From a one-time CRISPR therapy cutting HAE attacks by 87% to CSU biomarkers and emerging ILIT research, here are the 5 allergy stories worth catching up on from May 2026.

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Allergy condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on allergic and inflammatory diseases. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for food and seasonal allergies, as well as allergic asthma and related conditions.

Food Allergy

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The HCPLive urticaria page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on chronic idiopathic urticaria and chronic spontaneous urticaria. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for urticaria, and more.

5 Allergy Headlines You Missed in May 2026

Ann Marie Navar, MD, PhD, is an associate professor of cardiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Navigating Access, Shared Decision-Making, and Long-Term Adherence in ASCVD

In 'Navigating Access, Shared Decision-Making, and Long-Term Adherence in ASCVD,' our experts delve into the practical realities of accessing advanced lipid-lowering therapies in the United States, where insurance coverage for PCSK9 inhibitors varies considerably across commercial plans, Medicaid, and Medicare. The panel distinguishes between Medicare Part B and Part D coverage structures, noting that inclisiran tends to fare better under Part B while monoclonal antibodies such as evolocumab and alirocumab are subject to the more variable Part D formulary landscape, often requiring prior authorization and generating significant administrative burden for clinical practices. One panelist describes training a dedicated staff member to manage insurance denials and appeals, reflecting the reality that securing guideline-directed therapy for high-risk patients frequently demands substantial practice resources. The panel also highlights an emerging third pathway for access, noting that some manufacturers are beginning to offer direct-to-patient programs at reduced prices, with monoclonal antibody costs dropping to approximately half of retail price in some cases, though even these reduced costs remain out of reach for many patients.

The conversation then shifts to shared decision-making as a cornerstone of long-term adherence, with the panel referencing survey data from studies of 5,000 and 10,000 statin-prescribed patients showing that a key predictor of self-reported adherence was whether patients felt genuinely consulted and included in the treatment decision by their prescriber. The panelists acknowledge that time constraints in clinical practice can make thorough shared decision-making difficult, but argue that the investment pays dividends in long-term patient buy-in and persistence with therapy. The episode closes with a candid discussion about the challenge of health misinformation, with the panel encouraging clinicians to proactively acknowledge that much of what patients encounter online about medications is unreliable, and to position themselves as trusted partners in the patient's health journey, emphasizing that the personal connection between prescriber and patient remains one of the most powerful tools available in supporting adherence and achieving lasting ASCVD risk reduction.

Our last episode, 'Closing Thoughts on ASCVD Management,' further explores ASCVD, highlighting the critical steps needed to bridge the persistent gap between guideline-recommended LDL goals and real-world clinical outcomes, with panelists offering forward-looking recommendations spanning healthcare system reform, risk assessment tools, treatment algorithms, patient engagement, and the foundational importance of long-term follow-up and adherence.

Videos

Learn how clinicians reach ultra-low LDL targets in high-risk patients using ezetimibe, PCSK9s, and smarter insurance documentation.

Personalizing Therapy Across High-Risk Conditions and Comorbidities in ASCVD

In this episode, 'Personalizing Therapy Across High-Risk Conditions and Comorbidities in ASCVD,' the panelists explore the practical integration of non-statin lipid-lowering therapies for high and very high-risk patients who remain above guideline-recommended LDL targets despite background statin therapy. The discussion opens with the importance of patient education around evolving LDL goals, noting that many patients were previously counseled to targets of less than 100 or less than 70 mg/dL and now need to understand why a more aggressive goal of less than 55 mg/dL, with an optimal range of 30 to 40 mg/dL, is being pursued. The panel emphasizes that since doubling a statin dose yields only an additional 5 to 6% LDL reduction, combination therapy is the necessary strategy for the vast majority of patients requiring further lowering. The conversation addresses the role of ezetimibe as an accessible first add-on, with PCSK9 inhibitors including monoclonal antibodies such as evolocumab and alirocumab, as well as inclisiran, reserved for patients who remain significantly above goal. The panelists also highlight the practical importance of precise clinical documentation, with one noting that clearly stating in the medical record that PCSK9 inhibitor initiation represents guideline-directed therapy is essential to navigating insurance and prior authorization barriers in the United States.

The discussion then turns to how specific comorbidities shape therapy selection, with the panel examining type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and established cardiovascular disease as conditions that can shift a patient from high to very high risk, thereby lowering the LDL goal and necessitating earlier combination therapy. For patients with type 2 diabetes, the panel notes a preference for directing more of the LDL lowering burden toward PCSK9 inhibitors rather than maximizing statin intensity, in order to avoid worsening glycemic control. The potential of early combination therapy in lipid-lowering naive patients presenting with myocardial infarction is also highlighted, with registry data suggesting superior outcomes compared to a stepwise escalation approach. The episode closes with a discussion of pioglitazone as an underutilized agent in type 2 diabetes that offers particular benefits for stroke prevention and cardiovascular risk reduction alongside its glucose-lowering properties, reinforcing the panel's broader message that comorbidities should be addressed directly with the therapies best suited to each condition while simultaneously pursuing the lowest achievable LDL goal.

The next episode in this series, 'Navigating Access, Shared Decision-Making, and Long-Term Adherence in ASCVD,' features the panelists advancing their conversation on ASCVD and focusing on the complex insurance and prior authorization landscape surrounding PCSK9 inhibitor access in the United States, while examining how shared decision-making, patient education, and strong prescriber-patient relationships drive long-term medication adherence in high-risk patients.

Why patients quit cholesterol therapy—and how LDL checkups, reminders, and longer-acting injectables improve lifelong medication adherence.

Pediatric Dermatologist at Children’s Hospital Colorado

Andrew C. Krakowski, MD, works for St. Luke's University Health Network.

What We Still Don't Know: Gaps, Phototherapy, and the Future of Pediatric Eczema Care

As the therapeutic arsenal for pediatric atopic dermatitis has expanded, clinicians increasingly face decisions that go beyond which medications are effective—they must weigh real-world practicality, patient age, disease burden, and, inevitably, what the evidence will and will not support. The final section of the recently published pediatric atopic dermatitis guidelines from the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) addresses phototherapy and older systemic agents, and in doing so highlights one of the most consequential limitations in the current evidence base.

Andrew C. Krakowski, MD, of St. Luke's University Health Network, interpreted the guidelines as empowering clinicians to move past phototherapy—logistically burdensome, requiring two to three clinic visits per week and often disrupting school schedules—toward biologic and targeted therapies more directly. Torres-Zegarra, of Children's Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado Anschutz, agreed while noting that phototherapy remains a reasonable option for families with strong reservations about systemic therapy or for patients with extensive body surface area involvement and ready access to a phototherapy unit. Both physicians acknowledged that the guideline's most significant gap is the lack of direct head-to-head comparisons between treatment modalities: without Consumer Reports-style comparative data, neither the clinical superiority nor the cost-effectiveness of one agent over another can be established with confidence. Torres-Zegarra pointed specifically to the unresolved question of whether methotrexate and dupilumab differ meaningfully in laboratory changes requiring intervention—a comparison that remains absent from the literature.

 special report, Krakowski and Torres-Zegarra reflect on what the guidelines represent for the field: a formal acknowledgment that pediatric atopic dermatitis is a distinct clinical entity worthy of dedicated research, and that the tools now available to treat it can achieve outcomes that would have been difficult to imagine a decade ago. The expectation of near-complete clearance, once rare, is increasingly the norm—and for clinicians who have watched children struggle with this disease throughout their careers, that shift is, as both physicians agreed, a remarkable moment to be practicing pediatric dermatology.

Disclosures: Krakowski and Torres-Zegarra have no relevant reported disclosures.

American Academy of Dermatology Issues First-Ever Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis Guidelines, Highlighting Prevention Strategies and Effective Treatments. American Academy of Dermatology. April 7, 2026. Accessed June 4, 2026. 

https://www.aad.org/news/aad-issues-first-pediatric-atopic-dermatitis-guidelines

Smith T. First-Ever Pediatric Eczema Guidelines Issued by American Academy of Dermatology. HCPLive. April 10, 2026. Accessed June 4, 2026. 

https://www.hcplive.com/view/first-ever-pediatric-eczema-guidelines-issued-american-academy-dermatology

In the final segment, the clinicians evaluate the guideline's nuanced positioning of phototherapy relative to newer systemic agents and highlight a gap.

Atopic Dermatitis

Atopic Dermatitis condition center page, audiences can find a variety of coverage mediums for medical news and updates, including articles, video interviews, podcasts, and breaking news on dermatitis research, treatment, and drug development.

Special Reports

When and How to Escalate Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis Treatment

 whose disease is not controlled with topical therapies alone, the decision to escalate to systemic treatment represents a significant moment in the clinical relationship—and one that requires careful communication. The pediatric atopic dermatitis guidelines published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) offer evidence-based direction on systemic therapy selection, grounding what can be a difficult family conversation in data.

Carla Torres-Zegarra, MD, of Children's Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado Anschutz, described her approach: she frames escalation not as a failure of prior treatment but as a recognition that the disease is more than a rash—it is a systemic inflammatory condition—and that the goal is not only skin clearance but also improved sleep, school performance, and overall family functioning. She highlighted dupilumab, the interleukin-4/13 inhibitor approved for atopic dermatitis in patients as young as 6 months, as her preferred first-line systemic agent, citing its pediatric FDA approval, the absence of required laboratory monitoring, and a sevenfold improvement in disease control compared with alternative treatments identified in the guideline.

Torres-Zegarra noted that when she tells families they should expect to see little to no active eczema at a 3-month follow-up, they are often skeptical—until they return. Andrew C. Krakowski, MD, of St. Luke's University Health Network, underscored this shift in expectations, noting that the guidelines effectively signal that clearance, not just improvement, is now the benchmark.

 special report also addresses the practicality of systemic therapy from the family's perspective. Torres-Zegarra contrasted the burden of a twice-daily topical regimen—difficult to sustain across two households or during school years—with an injection given every 2 or 4 weeks, emphasizing that adherence is inseparable from efficacy. Krakowski and Torres-Zegarra review the safety monitoring requirements for JAK inhibitors and discuss how insurance prior authorization pathways continue to shape initiation patterns, even as the evidence base for earlier systemic intervention strengthens.

Krakowski and Torres-Zegarra discuss how to initiate the conversation about systemic therapy with families and review the guideline's drug hierarchy.

Dermatology

The HCPLive dermatology page is a resource for medical news and expert insights on skin disease. This page features expert-led coverage, articles, videos and research on the therapies and development of treatments for dermatologic conditions, and more.

The experts review the guideline's approach to topicals for active atopic dermatitis, covering the appropriate use of topical corticosteroids and more.

Beyond Steroids: Topical Agents in Pediatric Eczema

This segment examines how the guideline navigates the tension between GRADE-based evidence thresholds and long-established clinical practices.

How to Apply the New Pediatric Eczema Guidelines in Practice

This discussion highlights disease prevention and the foundational role of moisturization, with the experts examining emollient use.

Discussing Evidence-Based Skin Care for Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis

Pediatric dermatologists introduce the first pediatric-specific evidence-based guidelines for atopic dermatitis and discuss.

Why Pediatric Eczema Finally Has Its Own Guidelines

Steven Nathan, MD, Schar Chair of the Advanced Lung Disease and Lung Transplant Program at Inova Fairfax Hospital and chair of the TETON Steering Committee.

Phase 3 TETON-1 data show inhaled treprostinil reduced FVC decline by 130 mL and cut clinical worsening risk 33% in IPF patients over 52 weeks, according to Steven Nathan, MD.

Conference

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Inhaled Treprostinil Improves IPF Outcomes in Phase 3 TETON-1 Trial

Njira Lugogo, MD, from University of Michigan.

5 interviews. 5 minutes. The asthma data from ATS 2026 your patients will be asking about.

Asthma

The HCPLive asthma page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on asthmatic disease. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for allergic and severe asthma, and more.

HCPLive Five: Asthma Updates at ATS 2026

Learn how clinicians personalize Crohn’s treatment, why early therapy matters, and how IL‑23 options like guselkumab fit.

Video Series

Overcoming Biologic Concerns and Achieving Remission in IBD

Crohn’s patient and GI expert share symptom-to-diagnosis clues and biologic options that overcome access worries and support remission.

Individualizing Biologic Therapy in IBD

Delphine Kerob, MD, is the La Roche-Posay International Scientific Director and a dermatologist for Saint Louis hospital in Paris.

This Q&A interview highlights findings on the lifelong impacts on education and career faced by some patients with childhood diagnoses of atopic dermatitis.

Q&A: How Lifelong Burdens Are Shaped by Childhood Eczema, With Delphine Kerob, MD

Alex Hajduczok, MD, is an advanced heart failure and pulmonary hypertension specialist at Oklahoma Heart Institute. 

Podcasts

Hear Jim Januzzi, MD, discuss how he overcame academic shortcomings to become one of the preeminent voices in cardiology biomarkers.

Cardiology

Cardiology condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on cardiovascular and cardiometabolic diseases. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for heart disease and cardiovascular events, as well as associated diabetes, renal failure, and more...

podcasts page features a feed of medical news and interview podcast series, including DocTalk, Lungcast, Derm Discussions, and Heart Trials.

Moving the Needle in Medicine

Moving the Needle in Medicine is a monthly podcast from HCPLive Cardiology exploring the backstories and nuanced career paths that led the field’s movers and shakers to where they are today. Hosted by Alex Hajduczok, MD, the show will offer listeners insight into the biggest names in cardiology and beyond. 

This podcast is available via video on YouTube and on the HCPLive Cardiology podcast platforms on popular audio players.

Latest News

5 Allergy Headlines You Missed in May 2026

Navigating Access, Shared Decision-Making, and Long-Term Adherence in ASCVD

Personalizing Therapy Across High-Risk Conditions and Comorbidities in ASCVD

What We Still Don't Know: Gaps, Phototherapy, and the Future of Pediatric Eczema Care

When and How to Escalate Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis Treatment