New Study Confirms RINVOQ® Effectiveness In Treating Severe Atopic Dermatitis

AbbVie has shared promising new findings from a post-hoc analysis of its Phase 3 Measure Up 1 and Measure Up 2 studies. The analysis focused on the effectiveness of upadacitinib (at 15 mg or 30 mg doses) in treating moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD), with particular attention to how the severity of head and neck involvement at baseline influenced outcomes over a 16-week period, compared to a placebo.

Key treatment goals were assessed, including achieving nearly complete skin clearance in the head and neck area (EASI Head & Neck score <1), overall skin improvement (EASI 90), minimal to no itching (WP-NRS 0/1), and little to no impact on quality of life (DLQI 0/1). The study categorised patients based on their initial head and neck involvement as mild, moderate, or severe, to evaluate the effectiveness of upadacitinib across these groups.

Uncontrolled atopic dermatitis (AD) can deeply affect patients, leading to substantial physical discomfort, emotional strain, and social challenges. The long-term burden of the disease is often intensified by its persistent symptoms. Studies indicate that AD in areas like the head, neck, face, and hands can significantly worsen symptom severity and negatively affect quality of life. Real-world data reveals that head and neck involvement was present in 70% of patients in the UP-TAINED study and at least 74.5% in the AD-VISE study, highlighting the urgent need for effective treatments targeting these particularly challenging areas.

Kilian Eyerich, MD, PhD, chair and professor at the Department of Dermatology and Venerology of the University of Freiburg, Germany, said in a statement, "These data stratify the severity of atopic dermatitis in the head and neck region, which is a part of the body that has significant impact on patients and is challenging to treat. At 16 weeks, RINVOQ showed efficacy in patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis with various degrees of head and neck involvement, achieving optimal treatment targets with combined measures of EASI 90 and WP-NRS 0/1, along with improvement on the patients' quality of life measured by DLQI 0/1 in a substantial number of patients."