Examining Treatment Landscape, Options in Hidradenitis Suppurativa

In this episode of the HCP Live News Network, Martina Porter, MD, vice chair of Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Colleen Cotton, MD, director of the Multidisciplinary Pediatric HS Clinic at Children's National Hospital, discuss the recent FDA approval of bimekizumab (Bimzelx) for moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS). Their conversation focuses on the challenges of managing this heterogeneous disease and the implications of bimekizumab as a newly approved treatment option.

Cotton highlights the multifactorial nature of HS, including hormonal influences, insulin resistance, and friction, which complicate treatment. She notes the importance of tailoring therapies to individual patients and balancing medical treatments with surgical interventions, particularly in moderate to severe cases where scarring is a concern. The approval of bimekizumab marks a significant step forward, expanding the limited treatment options for HS.

Porter emphasizes the importance of a multimodal approach, incorporating biologics like bimekizumab alongside other therapies to address the disease’s complexity. Drawing on her experience with biologics used in psoriasis, she highlights bimekizumab’s potential for patients who have not responded to adalimumab or secukinumab, stressing the need for further refinement of first-line and subsequent treatment strategies

Relevant disclosures for Porter include Abbvie, Bristol Myers Squibb, Janssen, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, UCB, Trifecta Clinical, Incyte, and Anaptys Bio. Relevant disclosures for Cotton include Leo Pharma, Novartis, Avita Medical, and others.