Significance of Nemolizumab Approval for Atopic Dermatitis, with Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD

In December 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved nemolizumab (Nemluvio) as an additional therapeutic option for patients aged 12 and older with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis that is not adequately treated using standard topical options.

The drug itself became known as the first monoclonal antibody that had been approved by the FDA for targeting interleukin (IL)-31 receptor alpha, blocking IL-31 signaling and thereby addressing the cytokine’s role in atopic dermatitis-related itch and skin barrier dysfunction. To discuss the approval’s significance for patients as well as dermatologists, the HCPLive team spoke with Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, clinical associate professor of medicine at Rosalind Franklin University Chicago Medical School and founder and director of the Center for Medical Dermatology + Immunology Research in Chicago.

“We've never really had treatments that are truly as itch-forward as nemolizumab is, as nemolizumab targets IL-31 signaling, which we know is a really important signal for driving pruritus,” Chovatiya explained. “...But also has important regulatory and inflammatory roles as well. So I like to think about the fact that many of our other cytokine targets have a, let's say, initial or primary effect on inflammatory components in a secondary role in regulating how itch works.”

Chovatiya, who is also set to serve as the co-chair the upcoming 2025 Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis (RAD) Annual Meeting, went on to describe that nemolizumab, as a medication, may promote itch reduction in a different way among patients living with atopic dermatitis.

“This may go at the problem in a slightly different way, in terms of a primary role on itch and a secondary role on how inflammation works,” Chovatiya said. “I use these words to rank things, not to say that one is more important than the other. But rather [to say] that atopic dermatitis is a very chicken-or-egg sort of situation. It's hard to know what the sequence of events is. It is a different way at getting at the signs and symptoms of disease.”

Chovatiya further noted that for many of the patients who he states are struggling significantly with uncontrolled itch and uncontrolled symptoms of atopic dermatitis, the availability of nemolizumab may provide such individuals with a unique opportunity for treatment.

For additional information on nemolizumab and its approval’s significance, view the full interview segment posted above.

The quotes contained in this interview were edited for the purposes of clarity. Chovatiya has reported serving as an advisor, consultant, speaker, and/or investigator for AbbVie, Amgen, Apogee Therapeutics, Arcutis, Argenx, ASLAN Pharmaceuticals, Beiersdorf, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cara Therapeutics, Dermavant, Eli Lilly and Company, FIDE, Formation Bio, Galderma, Genentech, GSK, Incyte, LEO Pharma, L’Oréal, Nektar Therapeutics, Novartis, Opsidio, Pfizer Inc, Regeneron, RAPT, Sanofi, Sitryx, and UCB.

References

1. Galderma Receives U.S. FDA Approval for Nemluvio® (Nemolizumab) for Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis. Galderma. December 14, 2024. https://www.galderma.com/news/galderma-receives-us-fda-approval-nemluvior-nemolizumab-patients-moderate-severe-atopic. Date accessed: April 9, 2025.