Highlighting Recent Therapies for Dermatologists, with James Del Rosso, DO

James Del Rosso, DO, the research director of JDR Dermatology Research and president of the American Acne and Rosacea Society, spoke with the HCPLive editorial team in a Zoom interview regarding his conference talk ‘What’s New in the Medicine Chest - Part 2.’

His presentation was held at the Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference in Las Vegas. Del Rosso’s previous interview had involved a discussion of new therapies available for dermatologic conditions. In this interview, Del Rosso highlighted additional drugs in the dermatology armamentarium that he felt were notable and important for health care providers to be made aware of.

“We have another non-steroidal that is not FDA-approved for atopic dermatitis, but the data has been submitted and it's right around the corner, we believe,” Del Rosso said. “It is topical tapinarof 1% cream that is once-a-day (and it’s called) Vtama. That's approved for psoriasis. We now have data on intertriginous psoriasis with this drug. We now have data with the head and neck, and we know that it's very effective and well-tolerated. But there is data for atopic dermatitis going down to the age of 2.”

Del Rosso added that it is unclear if a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval will be indicated for that low age range, but an approval is expected given solid efficacy and safety data. He then went on to discuss other recent options.

“We have topical clascoterone, which is Winlevi, and it’s applied twice-a-day for acne,” Del Rosso said. “We now know that this formulation does not damage the skin barrier. That’s very important when we're utilizing therapies for acne, because patients may be using other topicals, and if we combine a lot that can irritate the skin.”

Later, Del Rosso discussed a triple-combination option for patients suffering from acne.

“I also discussed the triple combination, which is clindamycin, adapalene, and benzoyl peroxide, applied once-a-day in an excellent formulation,” Del Rosso said. “The polymeric emulsion is part of the secret sauce, in addition to all 3 of those active ingredients. It’s the first time we've been able to do that in 1 formulation applied once-a-day.”

Later, Del Rosso discussed systemic agents for patients with prurigo nodularis. He specifically highlighted nemolizumab.

“We have nemolizumab, or Nemluvio, that was just approved,” Del Rosso said. “It’s an anti IL-31 agent for prurigo nodularis and is right around the corner for atopic dermatitis, we believe. Not yet approved for atopic dermatitis patients in the indication or any severity for prurigo nodularis, but these were patients in the trial that had at least 20 nodules. A third of them had over 100 nodules. So it was shown to be very effective in reducing itch and improving their skin and the healing of prurigo lesions.”

To learn more about these subjects, view the full interview segment posted above. For more about conference presentations, check out our latest conference articles available here.

The quotes used in this interview description were edited for the purposes of clarity.