Abrocitinib, taken once daily, previously was approved only for treating adults aged 18 and older.
It joins upadacitinib (Rinvoq), previously the only oral JAK inhibitor to be approved for use by adolescents aged 12 through 17 with refractory moderate to severe AD.
The indication has been expanded for teens whose disease is not adequately controlled with other systemic drugs, including biologics, or those for whom use of those drugs is not advised.
Prescribing information was updated to reflect data from JADE TEEN, a phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled trial that supported the indication for adolescents. That trial evaluated both the 100-mg and 200-mg doses of abrocitinib in comparison with placebo in 285 adolescents aged 12-18 who had moderate to severe AD and who were also receiving background therapy with topical medications.
The most common toxicities that were reported in at least 1% of patients treated with abrocitinib for up to 16 weeks included nasopharyngitis, nausea, and headache.
Efficacy measures included improvements in itch, skin clearance, and disease severity using the Investigator Global Assessment (IGA), the Peak Pruritus Numerical Rating Scale (PP-NRS), and the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI), according to the Pfizer statement announcing the expanded approval.
Select JADE TEEN findings include the following:
- IGA response rate of 0 or 1 at week 12: 39% with abrocitinib 100 mg; 46% with abrocitinib 200 mg; and 24% with placebo.
- EASI-75 response rate at week 12: 64%, 71%, and 41%, respectively.
- Proportion of participants achieving PP-NRS with at least a 4-point decrease from baseline at week 2: 13%, 25%, and 8%, respectively.
Data included in the prescribing information now encompass five randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials and a long-term extension study with more than 1,600 patients treated with abrocitinib, according to the statement from Pfizer.
In a 2021 story, when JADE TEEN trial results were presented, Lawrence Eichenfield, MD, professor of dermatology and pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, and Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego, told this news organization that he welcomed oral JAKs as a weapon against atopic dermatitis.
He noted that moderate to severe AD can have a tremendous impact on adolescents. “Traditionally, we have treated it with intermittent topical corticosteroids, but this has left a significant percentage of patients without long-term disease control,” he said.
Abrocitinib is not recommended for use with other JAK inhibitors, biologic immunomodulators, or other immunosuppressants.
AD, one of the most common inflammatory skin diseases, affects approximately 5%-10% of adults in the United States and approximately 11% of children. About one in three adults and one in three children and adolescents aged 17 and younger with AD have moderate to severe disease.
JAK inhibition is thought to modulate multiple cytokines involved in AD, including interleukin (IL)–4, IL-13, IL-31, IL-22, and thymic stromal lymphopoietin.
Prescribing information includes a warning that use of abrocitinib should be avoided by patients with an active, serious infection, including localized infections. A boxed warning is included in the labels of JAK inhibitors regarding the risk of serious infections, mortality, major cardiovascular events, and thrombosis.
Treatment risks and benefits should be carefully considered for patients with chronic or recurrent infections or those who have lived in or traveled in areas of endemic tuberculosis or endemic mycoses, the information states.
A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.