Alex Hajduczok, MD, is an advanced heart failure and pulmonary hypertension specialist at Oklahoma Heart Institute. 

Philip Adamson, MD, MSc, is the chief medical officer of CVRx.

Lessons From a Career Dedicated to Transforming Heart Failure Care

, host Alex Hajduczok, MD, a cardiologist and heart failure specialist at Oklahoma Heart Institute, sits down with Philip Adamson, MD, MSc, chief medical officer at CVRx, to discuss Adamson’s path through cardiology and his work with CVRx in heart failure.

Check out the full episode on Adamson’s full cardiology career

Hajduczok and Adamson discuss the transformative potential of baroreflex activation therapy in heart failure, highlighting a patient case from the Oklahoma Heart Institute that demonstrated substantial physiologic improvements following Barostim therapy. They describe marked gains in exercise capacity, with the patient nearly doubling maximal workload during invasive cardiopulmonary exercise testing, alongside a significant reduction in pulmonary capillary wedge pressure. The case is presented as a powerful illustration of the broad physiologic effects of neuromodulation, reinforcing the concept that heart failure is a complex, systemic disease requiring interventions capable of influencing multiple interconnected pathways. Rather than targeting a single aspect of cardiac function, baroreflex activation therapy is described as modifying pulmonary vascular responses, left atrial and ventricular physiology, heart rate regulation, and exercise tolerance simultaneously. The speakers emphasize that understanding these effects requires a strong foundation in cardiovascular pathophysiology and express enthusiasm about completing and publishing the case report to share these findings with the broader heart failure community.

The conversation then shifts from clinical science to professional development, as Adamson reflects on a career spanning academic medicine, clinical research, industry, and innovation. Although his work has evolved over several decades and across different settings, he explains that the central purpose of his career has remained unchanged: finding better ways to improve the lives of patients with heart failure. Adamson notes that each transition provided new opportunities to expand his perspective while remaining focused on advancing patient care. In particular, his experience in industry exposed him to areas beyond traditional clinical practice, including international regulatory processes, reimbursement strategies, medical device development, and the challenges of bringing new technologies from clinical investigation into widespread clinical adoption. He describes these experiences as invaluable, providing a broader understanding of the many factors required to successfully translate innovation into meaningful clinical impact.

The speakers also explore the value of curiosity, resilience, and lifelong learning in both medicine and research. Reflecting on his career, Adamson stresses that failures and missteps should not be viewed as permanent setbacks but rather as opportunities to refine one's thinking and improve future decision-making. He emphasizes the importance of remaining intellectually flexible, acknowledging that long-held hypotheses may ultimately prove incorrect and that unexpected opportunities often emerge for those willing to recognize them. Drawing on the analogy of noticing "red cars" only after intentionally looking for them, he encourages clinicians and investigators to remain attentive to new possibilities rather than becoming constrained by preconceived expectations.

Throughout the discussion, Adamson conveys a deep sense of gratitude for witnessing the remarkable evolution of heart failure care over the past four decades. He recalls entering the field at a time when heart failure was widely regarded as a rapidly progressive and uniformly fatal condition with limited therapeutic options. In contrast, contemporary advances have dramatically improved survival, functional status, and quality of life, with some patients now achieving meaningful recovery. He concludes that these advances have reinforced the purpose that has guided his career from the beginning: continually seeking new ways to help patients live longer, healthier, and more fulfilling lives despite the challenges of heart failure.

Editors’ Note: Hajduczok reports disclosures with CVRx, Edwards Lifesciences, and Impulse Dynamics. Adamson reports employment with CVRx.

Videos

The latest episode of Moving the Needle in Medicine features Philip Adamson, MD, MSc, as he walks through his long and successful career in cardiology.

News

news page, resources on the topics of disease- and specialty-specific medical news and expert insight can be found. Content includes articles, interviews, videos, podcasts, and breaking news on health care research, treatment, and drug development.

Clinical

clinical page is a resource for content on every specialty, disease, and topic available on our medical news site.

Cardiology

Cardiology condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on cardiovascular and cardiometabolic diseases. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for heart disease and cardiovascular events, as well as associated diabetes, renal failure, and more...

Heart Failure

The HCPLive heart failure page is a resource for medical news and expert insights on HF. This page features expert-led coverage, articles, videos and research on the therapies and development of treatments for heart disease, reduced and preserved ejection fraction, and more.

University of Colorado Health Sciences Center

show oral sebetralstat produced rapid, consistent symptom relief for breakthrough 

attacks in patients already on long-term prophylaxis (LTP) and left just 1.6% of attacks untreated.¹ Effectiveness was consistent regardless of which prophylactic agent patients were taking, with a median time to symptom relief of 1.3 hours.

Sebetralstat Resolves Breakthrough HAE Attacks Despite Prior Prophylaxis

The analysis evaluated 35 participants with HAE due to C1-inhibitor deficiency receiving LTP with berotralstat (n = 16), lanadelumab (n = 13), or C1 inhibitor replacement (n = 6).¹ Despite background prophylaxis, these participants experienced 504 breakthrough attacks and treated 382 of them (75.8%) with sebetralstat 600 mg, an oral plasma kallikrein inhibitor.¹

“Even people who are on those preventative therapies…can have breakthrough attacks of hereditary angioedema, and when that happens, the sebetralstat product worked well for them, even though it has an overlapping mechanism of action with some of those products," Investigator Daniel F. Soteres, MD, a physician from Asthma & Allergy Associates, PC, told 

He added that global guidelines call for every patient with HAE to keep 2 doses of on-demand medication available at all times in case an attack does not respond to the first.

KONFIDENT-S Data Show Consistent Relief Across LTP Regimens

Median time to beginning of symptom relief was 1.3 hours for participants on berotralstat, 1.3 hours for lanadelumab, and 1.8 hours for C1 inhibitor LTP.¹ Median time from attack recognition to sebetralstat administration was 6 minutes overall, ranging from 1 minute in participants on C1 inhibitor LTP to 20 minutes in those on berotralstat, and nearly 30% of attacks were treated while still mild.¹

Only 1.6% of the 504 breakthrough attacks went untreated, compared with roughly 50% of attacks in a prior real-world study of injectable on-demand therapy.¹ A second dose of sebetralstat was needed within 12 hours in 22.3% of attacks, and conventional injectable therapy was used in just 5.2% of sebetralstat-treated attacks.¹ Treatment-emergent adverse events occurred in 65.7% of participants, with 14.3% considered treatment-related, most commonly headache, nausea, and vomiting; no serious or severe treatment-related events were reported.¹

Counseling Patients Through Overlapping Mechanisms And Treatment Timing

Soteres said the overlapping mechanism of action between sebetralstat and kallikrein-inhibiting LTP agents was never a concern for him clinically.

"I'm an allergy and asthma doctor,” Soteres said. “We use overlapping mechanisms of action to treat disease in many regards.”

He also pointed to the oral, self-administered format as a likely driver of earlier treatment, since patients no longer need a private setting to self-inject and may feel more comfortable taking it. On setting expectations, Soteres cautioned that sebetralstat should not be framed to patients like an epinephrine autoinjector.

"It's not going to work in seconds," he said. “You do have to take the medicine and calm yourself. Let your loved one know what's going on and let the medicine do its job. You have to let the medicine do its work [for] over 20 minutes.”

Editor’s note: Reported disclosures for Soteres include KalVista Pharmaceuticals, BioCryst, CSL Behring, Intellia Therapeutics, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Pharming, Pharvaris, and Takeda.

Kinaciyan T, Aygören-Pürsün E, Martinez-Saguer I, et al. Sebetralstat for breakthrough attacks in patients with hereditary angioedema receiving long-term prophylaxis in KONFIDENT-S. 

. 2026;5(5):100750. Published 2026 Jun 12. 

Johnson V. Sebetralstat Shows Long Term Fast Relief of Breakthrough HAE Attacks. HCPLive. Published July 21, 2026. Accessed July 24, 2026. 

https://www.hcplive.com/view/sebetralstat-shows-long-term-fast-relief-breakthrough-hae-attacks

New international guideline for HAE management - HAE International (HAEi). HAE International (HAEi). Published May 3, 2022. Accessed July 24, 2026. 

https://haei.org/new-international-guideline-for-hae-management/

Articles

Interim KONFIDENT-S results indicate oral sebetralstat 600 mg enabled rapid, consistent control of breakthrough hereditary angioedema attacks among patients with C1-inhibitor deficiency receiving long-term prophylaxis (berotralstat, lanadelumab, or C1 inhibitor). Across 504 attacks, median time to initial symptom relief was ~1.3 hours (1.8 hours with C1 inhibitor prophylaxis), and only 1.6% of attacks were untreated. Early, self-administered dosing likely supported prompt use, with acceptable tolerability and no serious treatment-related events.

Daniel Soteres, MD, discusses KONFIDENT-S data showing sebetralstat quickly resolves breakthrough HAE attacks in patients on long-term prophylaxis

Allergy

Allergy condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on allergic and inflammatory diseases. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for food and seasonal allergies, as well as allergic asthma and related conditions.

Tim Smith joined the MJH Life Sciences team in 2022 and is currently an associate editor for 

. He is also the executive producer of two podcasts: 

. Previously, he was the producer of the Lungcast podcast. He graduated from UC Berkeley and worked in multimedia journalism as a staff writer prior to joining MJH. You can contact him at tsmith@mjhlifesciences.com.

Sanofi has discontinued development of the OX40L antibody amlitelimab for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.

The company concluded amlitelimab would not provide a meaningful improvement over the current standard of care.

A phase 2 trial of amlitelimab in celiac disease will continue, with results expected in the second half of 2026.

Sanofi has announced it will discontinue the clinical development of amlitelimab for 

, citing the investigational therapy’s lack of sufficient clinical advantage over existing standards of care.

The July 24 decision has occurred despite positive long-term results from the company’s phase 3 SHORE and COAST development programs for amlitelimab.

 The move by Sanofi follows an internal strategic review the research pipeline. Now, the company will no longer pursue global regulatory submissions for amlitelimab in the atopic dermatitis treatment space.

Amlitelimab was designed as a fully human monoclonal antibody, inhibiting the OX40 ligand (OX40L), an immune signaling molecule involved in the early activation of T-cell–mediated inflammation.

 The selective blocking of this pathway without depleting T cells was done to modulate immune responses upstream in the inflammatory cascade.

The discontinuation follows split opinions in the field over whether amlitelimab's non-depleting mechanism would spare it from the safety concerns that ended rocatinlimab's development. 

 previously reported on this divide after 

Kyowa Kirin and Amgen halted rocatinlimab's program

 in March 2026 following identification of Kaposi's sarcoma cases across that trial.³ At the time, dermatologists were split on whether the signal reflected a risk specific to rocatinlimab's T-cell-depleting design or a broader class effect tied to OX40 pathway modulation itself. 

Eingun James Song, MD, and April W. Armstrong, MD, MPH, argued amlitelimab's ligand-blocking, non-depleting mechanism made a similar safety profile less likely, pointing to amlitelimab's favorable adverse event data at the time. Jennifer Soung, MD, was more skeptical, characterizing the Kaposi's sarcoma signal as a likely class effect regardless of mechanism and questioning whether any OX40-targeted therapy could clear a high enough efficacy and safety bar to unseat existing biologics.³

On the mechanistic distinction between the 2 agents, Soung was direct: "I don't think there's a difference. It's a class effect, and I was always worried about targeting T cells in immunology, so I'm not sure it's the best target."

In the company’s announcement, they described the determination to discontinue as based upon an assessment of the overall efficacy and safety data of the drug collected throughout this development program.

Although results from the ongoing ESTUARY phase 3 long-term extension trial suggested patients aged 12 years and older maintained clinical responses over time without relapse, Sanofi decided the medication would not provide a meaningful improvement compared with currently available options for moderate-to-severe disease.

The company noted that the study also continued to support the therapy’s emerging safety profile, consistent with observations from earlier clinical trials. Additional analyses from ESTUARY and the broader amlitelimab clinical development program are expected to be presented at a future scientific meeting.

Despite its discontinuation of the investigational drug’s development in atopic dermatitis, the company emphasized the substantial unmet need within the eczema treatment space. They pointed to the biologic heterogeneity of atopic dermatitis, pointing to diverse immune pathways contributing to disease development and progression, underscoring the continued need for additional therapeutic approaches for patients whose disease remains inadequately controlled.

Additionally, Sanofi acknowledged the contributions of the patients, caregivers, investigators, and study personnel who took part in the amlitelimab clinical program. They stated it will work alongside investigators, clinical sites, and regulatory authorities to responsibly conclude ongoing atopic dermatitis research. The company also plans to ensure appropriate transition plans for enrolled participants.

The announcement is not expected to impact Sanofi's financial outlook for 2026, with the company confirming its previously issued full-year guidance remains unchanged. While amlitelimab’s development in atopic dermatitis has ended, the drug remains under investigation in other diseases. Sanofi confirmed that its phase 2 clinical trial assessing the medication in celiac disease is continuing, with topline findings slated for the second half of 2026.

Press Release: Sanofi announces decision not to submit amlitelimab in atopic dermatitis for global regulatory reviews. Sanofi. July 24, 2026. 

https://www.sanofi.com/en/media-room/press-releases/2026/2026-07-24-05-30-00-3332696

Smith T. Amlitelimab Effective, Safe for Atopic Dermatitis in Patients 12 Years and Older. HCPLive. January 23, 2026. Accessed July 24, 2026. 

https://www.hcplive.com/view/amlitelimab-effective-safe-atopic-dermatitis-patients-12-years-older

Johnson, V. OX40 Targeting in Atopic Dermatitis: A Pathway Under Scrutiny. Article. HCPLive. May 11, 2026. 

https://www.hcplive.com/view/ox40-targeting-atopic-dermatitis-pathway-scrutiny

Sanofi has halted clinical development and will not pursue global regulatory submissions for amlitelimab in moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis following a strategic pipeline review. This occurs despite positive long-term phase 3 program data, including sustained responses in patients aged ≥12 years in the ESTUARY extension and an emerging safety profile consistent with earlier trials. The decision reflects a determination that the benefit–risk and differentiation were insufficient versus current standards of care. Ongoing analyses will be shared later; celiac disease development continues.

Sanofi has discontinued development of OX40L-targeting amlitelimab for atopic dermatitis, following the heels of Kyowa Kirin's similar rocatinlimab discontinuation.

Atopic Dermatitis

Atopic Dermatitis condition center page, audiences can find a variety of coverage mediums for medical news and updates, including articles, video interviews, podcasts, and breaking news on dermatitis research, treatment, and drug development.

Sanofi Announces Discontinuation of Amlitelimab for Atopic Dermatitis

Mandana Khalili, MD, is Chief of Clinical Hepatology and Director of Clinical and Translational Research in Hepatology at San Francisco General Hospital, and directs the UCSF T32 Hepatology Training Program.

A telehealth-delivered stepped alcohol treatment (SAT) model was associated with greater reductions in weekly alcohol consumption among patients with 

 and unhealthy alcohol use compared with usual care, according to findings from a randomized controlled trial. 

Although SAT did not significantly improve the trial’s primary endpoint of achieving less-than-moderate alcohol use at 3 and 6 months, participants receiving SAT had significantly greater reductions in mean drinks per week at both time points after adjustment for study site and baseline characteristics.

Telehealth Stepped Alcohol Care Reduced Drinking in Liver Disease

The study highlights a persistent challenge in hepatology, where unhealthy alcohol use is common among patients with CLD, and guidelines recommend integrating evidence-based alcohol treatment into liver care despite limited availability of these services in routine clinical practice.

“We wanted to really test a practical, scalable model that could be incorporated into routine hepatology practice and adapted for patients that may have changing needs over time,” senior author Mandana Khalili, MD, told 

How the Telehealth Alcohol Treatment Trial Was Designed

Investigators enrolled 157 adults with CLD and unhealthy alcohol use across 3 hepatology clinics in Northern California, including Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and 2 Veterans Affairs health systems. These participants were randomly assigned to receive SAT (n = 81) or usual care (n = 76) and were followed for 6 months.

The cohort had a median age of 61 years, 86% were male, 48% had cirrhosis, and 78% met criteria for alcohol use disorder. Mean alcohol consumption at baseline was approximately 32 drinks per week.

SAT consisted of up to 3 telehealth motivational interviewing sessions delivered over 6 weeks. Participants who continued unhealthy alcohol use at 3 months were stepped up to addiction medicine services, including structured counseling and pharmacotherapy when appropriate.

The investigators designed the model as a practical and scalable approach that could be incorporated into routine hepatology practice and adjusted based on patients’ changing treatment needs. Usual care consisted of routine alcohol screening and brief provider counseling.

The primary endpoint was the proportion of participants reporting less-than-moderate alcohol use at 3 and 6 months. Secondary outcomes included mean drinks per week, 30-day abstinence, and heavy episodic drinking.

Telehealth Alcohol Treatment Reduced Weekly Drinking but Missed Primary Endpoint

The trial did not meet its primary endpoint. At 6 months, 56% of participants receiving SAT and 53% receiving usual care reported less-than-moderate alcohol use, a nonsignificant difference.

However, after adjustment for study site and baseline characteristics, participants assigned to SAT experienced significantly greater reductions in mean drinks per week compared with usual care at both 3 and 6 months.

“One of the most important findings was that the participants receiving the step care treatment had a significantly higher reduction in the amount of average alcohol intake that they had per week,” Khalili said.

30-day abstinence at 6 months occurred in 29% of participants receiving SAT compared with 18% of those receiving usual care, although the difference did not reach statistical significance. Investigators also observed a trend toward less heavy episodic drinking with SAT.

Alcohol consumption declined in both groups over time. Khalili noted this likely reflects the impact of ongoing hepatology care itself but said the structured intervention produced an additional reduction in alcohol use beyond usual care.

The reduction in drinks per week appeared greater among women. Independent of treatment assignment, Latino participants and those with higher baseline motivation to reduce alcohol use were more likely to achieve the primary endpoint.

Among participants reporting 30-day abstinence, alcohol biomarkers confirmed abstinence in nearly 70% of those tested. Follow-up remained high, with completion rates of 90% at three months and 89% at six months. Rates of hospitalization, death, new cirrhosis, and hepatic decompensation did not differ significantly between groups.

Clinical Pearl: Why Harm Reduction Matters in Chronic Liver Disease

Although the trial did not achieve its primary endpoint, the reduction in weekly alcohol consumption may still be clinically meaningful for patients with chronic liver disease, explains Khalili.

Continued alcohol use can contribute to liver disease progression and negatively affect quality of life and mental health. For patients who are not immediately able to achieve abstinence, reducing alcohol consumption may represent an important treatment goal while they engage with behavioral interventions, addiction medicine, and pharmacotherapy.

“Even reducing alcohol consumption short of complete abstinence is meaningful clinically in this population with chronic liver disease and is also consistent with a model of harm reduction,” Khalili said.

How Telehealth Alcohol Treatment Could Expand Hepatology Care

Current liver disease guidelines recommend alcohol screening, behavioral counseling, pharmacotherapy when appropriate, and referral to addiction services. However, integrated alcohol treatment remains uncommon in hepatology clinics.

Khalili said the findings support integrating alcohol treatment directly into hepatology practices rather than relying exclusively on specialty addiction referrals.

“Rather than thinking of alcohol treatment as something that happens only in specialty addiction services, hepatology clinics themselves can play an active role in engaging patients in this type of evidence-based care,” she said.

The stepped-care model allows treatment intensity to increase according to patient needs, beginning with motivational interviewing and escalating to addiction medicine services and medication management when appropriate.

Investigators also found strong patient engagement with the approach. Despite enrolling patients from safety-net and Veterans Affairs health systems, populations that may experience socioeconomic barriers, mental health challenges, and difficulty accessing care, follow-up rates were approximately 90% at both three and six months.

“This lets us know that chronic liver disease patients are receptive to discussing alcohol use and engaging in treatment if it’s offered in patient-centered and accessible ways,” Khalili said.

Editor’s Note: Khalili reports relevant disclosures with Gilead, GSK, Resolution, and Intercept. 

A randomized controlled trial of stepped treatment to reduce unhealthy alcohol use in patients with chronic liver disease.

 Published online June 24, 2026. doi:10.1097/HEP.0000000000001796.

Yes, telemedicine can reduce alcohol use for liver disease patients.

Telehealth stepped alcohol treatment reduced weekly drinking, but not the primary endpoint, among patients with chronic liver disease.

Hepatology

MASH / MASLD

The HCPLive MASH & MASLD page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and steatohepatitis. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for fatty liver disease, steatohepatitis, and more.

Expanding biologic options are advancing precision medicine in atopic dermatitis.

Targeted therapies are helping clinicians better understand disease heterogeneity and inflammatory pathways.

Comparing treatment responses may improve personalized therapy selection for patients with atopic dermatitis.

As the dramatic expansion of the treatment landscape for 

 has continued in recent years, more and more targeted biologics and small-molecule medications have been providing clinicians with additional options in the armamentarium for patients with eczema.

Beyond broadening the therapeutic armamentarium, such advances in the atopic dermatitis space are also providing new insights into the underlying biology of the inflammatory skin disease, helping researchers better comprehend why patients respond differently to various drugs. In his on-site interview with 

Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis (RAD) Conference

 in Nashville, Tennessee, Jason Hawkes, MD, professor of dermatology at the University of California, Davis, touched on the ways in which the growing number of available therapies are shaping the future of precision medicine in dermatology.

In the following written Q&A interview, Hawkes explains why clinicians are learning more than ever about the distinctions between inflammatory pathways, about disease heterogeneity, and about the ways in which these discoveries may eventually lead to more personalized care:

You gave a session at RAD titled ‘Connecting AD to Other Dermatologic Disorders and Related Comorbidities.’ Why did you feel it was important to highlight the elements from your portion of this talk for dermatologists?

Historically, we had type 2 inflammation, but we had really a single product in atopic dermatitis. Then we started dissecting out the layers. We had the first therapy, obviously, blocking one receptor, blocking multiple cytokines. Then we started seeing the development of new therapies where we're blocking just a single cytokine with IL-13. We then had IL-31 receptor, but then we kind of went backwards a little bit in terms of blockade, with the JAK inhibitors being a little less specific, more selective for a particular enzyme, but hitting multiple pathways.

What that's allowed us to do is then compare and contrast responses. Why do some people respond to these therapies for atopic dermatitis, but only certain therapies work in urticaria or nasal polyps, for example? We're just now scratching that surface. Initially, we weren't sure what other pathways were coming, but now that we have these individual products, we can start to see the pros and cons of each of them. They're all going to have a place. We are now testing in humans, rather than in cell cultures or mouse models; we're seeing the benefits. We're seeing the drawbacks of different products, and that's allowing us to get closer to personalized medicine, where we can start to tailor the therapies to the patient in front of us. That's important.

For those then who weren't able to attend this session, what would you say were the biggest takeaways you hope clinicians will walk away with regarding atopic dermatitis treatments?

I think we've started to see the differentiation, where we're seeing this unique role for IL-4 in picking up some of the differentiation of the T cells, some of these autoantibodies, playing a role in unique diseases that we wouldn't necessarily have thought type 2 would have played a role. Things like chronic spontaneous urticaria and bullous pemphigoid. On the other spectrum, we have really an itch-centric therapy with blockade of the IL-31 receptor, and then we're seeing within the IL-13 space really this development of expertise in controlling atopic inflammation. We're seeing the benefits of extended dosing with these therapies that do a really good job at shutting down IL-13 in the tissues.

This has really been kind of helping us understand, again, where do we put these different products? Also, what are they teaching us? When we have a patient who initially responds and then stops responding, what does that mean? What happens if someone's inflammation gets better, but their itch persists, or vice versa? We hit their itch, and you see different changes. I think this has given us a chance to really explore this heterogeneous group. We've talked about atopic dermatitis, but there are probably these subsets within that bucket. Now we're starting to tease them out, and it's giving clinicians insight into what they saw in the clinic, which is this heterogeneity. I think it's going to help us eventually find the best treatment for the right patients.

How close are we in the dermatology space to a new era of personalized medicine?

 I think when we talk to patients, you hear these patients talk about type 2 inflammation. They're not saying those words, but they're saying, ‘I grew up, and I developed allergies as a kid, and I had exercise-induced asthma,’ and then ‘In college I started developing this rash and the flexural.’ They're telling you a story, and I think for a lot of clinicians that's natural to say, ‘I'm hearing this flavor of type 2 inflammation.’ In our urticaria patients, they start talking about [someone having] celiac disease, and say, ‘I develop hypothyroidism and have multiple food or drug allergies.’ So we start to hear those stories. I don't think we knew what to do with that information.

We just kind of categorize these patients as being, you know, atopics. We say that all the time. We're having atopy, and I think that that's been an evolution for us to kind of start to hear that story. But now we can start to attach it, you know, to particular therapies, and that's advancing care. The issue has been the system as really applying a one-size-fits-all, or you think about the prior authorization process where it's a formulary has been selected maybe based on cost that you know you have to go through this drug that's you know inexpensive or you know we've decided that this therapy's first line before you can get to the second or third line option, and those are counterintuitive because that one size fits all is the antithesis of personalized medicine.

To have an insurance company or a healthcare system say, ‘You have to use this drug’ really takes away the ability for the doctor to say, ‘I'm hearing this story.’ And I think they're actually going to do better on this type of therapy. But you may not be able to access it. I think we're fortunate in the US, where we have copay programs and samples, and we have access as a community to get medications that we think are the right fit. But we really haven't had a lot of science backing up why I choose therapy A, but my colleague might choose therapy B, or someone else might choose therapy C. We need some metrics or measures or testing that can help us better select therapies at the outset that have a higher likelihood of working because we just want to get those patients better. We're in a try-and-fail system, and we don't always know they can look like they're going to respond and not respond.

It seems a lot of what clinicians hate about prior authorization is about misaligned incentives and how it prevents patients from getting the right drug. What are your thoughts on prior authorization?

Yeah, here there's an article that's years old now, but still is relevant, which shows that when you look at the burden of prior authorizations, it's had a disproportionate impact on dermatologists. That was a paper that came out of the University of Utah. It was a well-done paper that highlights the issue, which is that across all of medicine, prior authorizations are creating an administrative burden. They don't bring in revenue for practices, but they take a lot of time. I think dermatologists have we're fortunate to have a lot of these targeted, selective therapies, but they're expensive. So how do we contain costs? Also, [how do we] not make this burden really affect those practices or trying to help patients?

I think there's a fair balance, but it's often used as a stall tactic as well. It's really hard to want to put a patient on, say, methotrexate, knowing that it's a very inexpensive medication. Knowing the drawbacks and limitations of using these therapies long term. Knowing these patients have chronic conditions. I see the rationale behind having some system in place to not be a free-for-all, but I think it has ultimately restricted the personalized care that experts can offer these that really have the expertise…We would like to really have some research and data guiding some of those decisions. I think that process has started in the research area to try to get us closer to making those better-informed decisions.

We know you discuss comorbidities of diseases such as atopic dermatitis. What comorbid conditions do you believe are still underrecognized in clinical practice?

Urticaria has been a really fun area to work in. It's probably more common. We in dermatology don't see it as much because a lot of the allergists have managed urticaria for a lot of years. But when you start to talk to people, almost every day, we talk to individuals saying, ‘I had a bout of urticaria.’ Literally at this meeting, I talked to somebody who was saying, ‘I grew up and had many bouts of urticaria,’ so we know that that's probably a little bit more common. These patients with chronic urticaria often end up suffering in silence, and they're trying over-the-counter medications. They're trying to look at what the causes might be.

I think we saw that with atopic dermatitis as well. I think that's a condition still within atopic dermatitis. I still think there are a lot more patients out there that have it. We see a small proportion of patients as a specialty. There's been a lot of data that these patients are out there in primary care or with their general practitioners that haven't been formally diagnosed. HS is another condition where we see a lot of underdiagnosis. But I think in the type 2 conditions, urticaria comes up. I think asthma is often underrecognized, especially for those that maybe have very mild asthma. Allergic rhinitis, we know, is very common. I think that's been, you know, appreciated. And when you start talking to patients, you hear that story.

What emerging research or unanswered questions related to atopic dermatitis are you most looking forward to learning more about?

One area I mentioned, sort of in in our in our panel, is how do we induce remission? One really interesting component for patients living with atopic dermatitis is that there's a subset of patients who just grow out of their disease. We don't really understand that process, and that's a really important mechanism to try to understand. We see that in other disease states, so guttate psoriasis, for example, one of those acute eruptive forms of psoriasis. But we know those patients have a risk of developing chronic plaque psoriasis. But most of them are self-limiting. So, what is it that's different in gut-based psoriasis than chronic plaque psoriasis? What's different in these patients that outgrow their disease as opposed to those that have persistent disease well into adulthood?

I think if we could uncover some of those mechanisms, what's the immune system doing? Maybe it's genetic. What's happening to corral that immune response to, you know, shut it off, regulate it, so that we don't have this, you know, persistent, chronic, active disease. That's an area where it's the silver bullet. We're all looking for ways to turn off disease, but I think that's really important for these chronic conditions. These patients want to stop living with their disease. They don't want to be on therapies, and I think obviously that move towards a cure, right, or remission, finding ways to really put disease in remission.

Disclosures: Hawkes has served as a consultant, advisory board member, investigator, and speaker for multiple pharmaceutical companies involved in dermatology, including AbbVie, Arcutis, Blueprint Medicines, Eli Lilly, Galderma, Incyte, Janssen, LEO Pharma, Novartis, Regeneron, Sanofi, Sun Pharma, Takeda, and UCB, among others. He has also received research funding and reports stock ownership in Regeneron.

Hawkes J, Lieberman J. Session 2: Connecting AD to Other Dermatologic Disorders and Related Comorbidities. Session presented at: 2026 Revolutionizing Atopic Dermatitis Conference; June 17-19, 2026; Nashville, TN.

Hawkes J. How Are New Biologics Changing Atopic Dermatitis Treatment? HCPLive. July 22, 2026. Accessed July 24, 2026. 

https://www.hcplive.com/view/how-new-biologics-changing-atopic-dermatitis-treatment-

Rapid proliferation of targeted biologics and small molecules for atopic dermatitis is enabling in vivo dissection of type 2–skewed inflammatory circuitry and clinically meaningful endotyping. Differential blockade of IL-4/IL-13, IL-31R, and broader pathway modulation with JAK inhibitors is clarifying why cutaneous inflammation, pruritus, and comorbidity signals decouple across patients. Clinical narratives of atopy and autoimmunity are increasingly actionable but remain constrained by step-therapy and prior-authorization burdens. Key research priorities include biomarkers for upfront selection and mechanisms driving durable remission.

Jason Hawkes, MD, explains how new biologics and targeted therapies are advancing precision medicine and improving personalized care in atopic dermatitis.

Conference

 conference coverage page features articles, videos, and expert-led live coverage from major medical meetings throughout the year.

Dermatology

The HCPLive dermatology page is a resource for medical news and expert insights on skin disease. This page features expert-led coverage, articles, videos and research on the therapies and development of treatments for dermatologic conditions, and more.

Q&A: How Is Precision Medicine Changing Atopic Dermatitis Care? With Jason Hawkes, MD

Abigail Brooks is a strategic content lead overseeing 

She joined MJH Life Sciences in August 2023 shortly after graduating from Monmouth University where she earned her BA in Communication with a concentration in Public Relations/Journalism and later an MA in Interactive Digital Media. She enjoys traveling, running, and reading books. She can be reached at abrooks@mjhlifesciences.com.

The approval makes MannKind Corporation’s furosemide injection the first and only autoinjector delivering SC furosemide with IV-equivalent exposure.

Nephrology

The HCPLive nephrology page is a resource for medical news and expert insights on kidney disease. This page features expert-led coverage, articles, videos and research on the therapies and development of treatments in nephrology, and more.

Chronic Kidney Disease

FDA News

FDA Approves Furosemide Injection (Furoscix ReadyFlow) for Edema in HF, CKD

David Golden, MD, clinical associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

David B.K. Golden, MD, of Johns Hopkins, discusses anaphylaxis counseling, the Anaphylm CRL, and why a new epinephrine guideline is still years away.

Anaphylaxis

The HCPLive anaphylaxis page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on acute allergic reactions. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for preventing anaphylaxis, and more.

Shared Decision-Making Guides Epinephrine Delivery Choice

GLP-1 receptor agonists show early promise for psoriasis and HS, but 3 experts urge caution on mechanism, durability, and long-term safety.

GLP-1s in Dermatology: Emerging Evidence and Unanswered Questions

Ron Blankstein, MD, is the associate director of the cardiovascular imaging program, director of cardiac computed tomography, and co-director of the cardiovascular imaging training program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, as well as a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Ron Blankstein, MD, explains the value of PCD-CT and its consistency in both data collection and analysis of plaque with prior technology.

Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease

Photon-Counting CT Plaque Analysis Consistent With Energy-Integrating Detector CT

IgA nephropathy shows a male predominance, but researchers have not identified why. Ramy Hanna, MD explores possible biological explanations.


IgA Nephropathy

The HCPLive Berger disease page is a resource for medical news and expert insights on IgA nephropathy. This page features expert-led coverage, articles, videos and research on the therapies and development of treatments in Berger disease, and more.

Why Does IgA Nephropathy Affect More Men? With Ramy Hanna, MD 

Chelsie Derman is an associate editor for 

who covers allergy and  psychiatry. She joined MJH Life Sciences in September 2023 after graduating from The College of New Jersey with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and professional writing. In her free time, she enjoys creative writing and reading.

Allergists explain what's settled about epinephrine nasal spray, what's not, and how to counsel patients before anaphylaxis guidelines catch up.

Epinephrine Nasal Spray Is Here. Updated Anaphylaxis Guidelines Aren't.

Victoria Johnson joined MJH Life Sciences in 2020 and has written for NeurologyLive, CGTLive, and is now an assistant managing editor for HCPLive and RheumatologyLive. She doesn’t have enough time for her numerous hobbies. You can reach her at vjohnson@mjhlifesciences.com.

APPs discuss insurance barriers, dupilumab as the default COPD biologic, depemokimab adherence advantages, and why pulmonary rehab remains critically underused.

COPD

COPD condition center page, resources on the topics of medical news and expert insight into chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can be found. Content includes articles, interviews, videos, podcasts, and breaking news on COPD research, treatment, and drug development.

Pulmonology

Infectious Disease condition center page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on respiratory health. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for asthma, COPD, interstitial lung disease, COVID-19, and more.

Dupilumab, Depemokimab, and COPD: What APPs See in Practice

Pulmonologists weigh in on biologic selection, mepolizumab tachyphylaxis, COPD payer barriers, and why asthma outcomes far outpace COPD in real-world practice.

Asthma

The HCPLive asthma page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on asthmatic disease. This page consists of interviews, articles, podcasts, and videos on the research, treatment and development of therapies for allergic and severe asthma, and more.

Biologics in Asthma and COPD: Real-World Gaps, Outcomes, and Unmet Needs

Ryan Livingston joined the MJH Life Sciences team in March of 2025, shortly after graduating from TCNJ with a bachelor’s degree in English. He enjoys creative writing, reading, and scuba diving. He can be reached at rlivingston@mjhlifesciences.com.

Retatrutide met 80-week weight-loss endpoints in TRIUMPH-2 and TRIUMPH-3, prompting a planned FDA submission in Q1 2027.

Latest News

Lessons From a Career Dedicated to Transforming Heart Failure Care

Sebetralstat Resolves Breakthrough HAE Attacks Despite Prior Prophylaxis

Sanofi Announces Discontinuation of Amlitelimab for Atopic Dermatitis

Telehealth Stepped Alcohol Care Reduced Drinking in Liver Disease

Q&A: How Is Precision Medicine Changing Atopic Dermatitis Care? With Jason Hawkes, MD