Dr Emma Guttman on IAS Virtual Meeting and Atopic Dermatitis

—Melissa Weiss

There have been many exciting new breakthroughs in the treatment of atopic dermatitis, with several therapies moving from phase 1 to phase 2, or phase 2 to phase 3 studies. At the 2020 Interdisciplinary Autoimmune Summit (IAS) virtual meeting, Emma Guttman, MD, PhD, will present on the latest advances in atopic dermatitis. The meeting will be held from July 10 through July 12, 2020.

Dr Guttman is the Sol and Clara Kest Professor of Dermatology and Immunology, vice chair of the department of dermatology, and director of the Center for Excellence in Eczema and Laboratory of Inflammatory Skin Diseases at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, New York.

She discussed a few aspects from her presentation that attendees can look forward to learning about at this year’s meeting.

ALN: What are you looking forward to most about presenting at the virtual IAS meeting this year?

Dr Guttman: It is unfortunate that this year we cannot attend as many meetings as possible in person because there have been a lot of developments in inflammatory skin diseases, including atopic dermatitis.

ALN: What will you be covering in your presentation?

Dr Guttman: In my presentation, I will be covering some treatment options for atopic dermatitis that are now in Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials.

After the first biologic for atopic dermatitis, dupilumab (Dupixent), was approved, it opened the door for other companies to develop new therapeutic options. There has been a lot of new developments for atopic dermatitis, such as two new anti-IL-13 therapies and JAK inhibitors, with many more coming into play. The latest developments were possible because of our increased understanding of the pathogenesis of AD, which I hope my lab contributed to this knowledge.

Atopic dermatitis is a complicated disease. In psoriasis, some therapies such as the IL-17 and IL-23 antagonists can achieve amazing Psoriasis Area and Severity Index 100 scores in about 60% of patients. Conversely, atopic dermatitis requires a more personalized medicine approach to treat 100% of patients effectively. I will be discussing the role of personalized medicine in atopic dermatitis in my presentation as well. For example, the differences between patients based on age, ethnicity, etc.

ALN: Would you say atopic dermatitis is close to experiencing a boom like psoriasis?

Dr Guttman: Absolutely. It is on its way. We already have a therapeutic boom, but soon we will also have the treatment success like we see in psoriasis.

To listen to Dr Guttman’s presentation, click here to register for IAS.