Christopher G. Bunick, MD, PhD

JAK1 Selective Inhibition and the Impact of Selectivity on Efficacy and Safety

Video content above is prompted by the following:

The 2 approved oral JAK inhibitors for AD are selective for JAK1. What is the significance of using a selective JAK inhibitor in AD?

How do these agents differ from nonselective JAK inhibitors used in other disease states?

How does this JAK1 selectivity impact the efficacy and safety of these agents in AD?

Videos

Experts discuss the significance of using selective JAK1 inhibitors for atopic dermatitis (AD), noting their targeted action compared with nonselective JAK inhibitors, and how JAK1 selectivity enhances both the efficacy and safety of these agents in treating AD.

The Role of the JAK/STAT Signaling Pathway in Atopic Dermatitis

Briefly describe the JAK/STAT signaling pathway and its role within the immune system.

Which JAK enzymes are involved in the pathogenesis of AD?

How does the JAK/STAT pathway play a role in itch and inflammation?

How do JAK inhibitors specifically work to improve AD symptoms (such as itch) and skin clearance?

Experts discuss the JAK/STAT signaling pathway’s critical role in immune response, highlighting the involvement of JAK enzymes in atopic dermatitis (AD) pathogenesis and how JAK inhibitors effectively reduce itch and inflammation, improving symptoms and skin clearance in AD.

A group of 9 experts reflect on what they are looking forward to most in 2025 following the AAD annual meeting. 

Expert Perspectives: Dermatology's Top Story to Watch in 2025

Although nearly all medical professionals can point to a “flagship” meeting or annual conference for their specialty, few serve the same role as or measure up to what the 

American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting

A testament to the draw and magnitude of the AAD’s annual showcase, the 2025 annual meeting, which was held in Orlando, Florida, from March 07-11, 2025, had more than 20,000 registered attendees. In addition to being the field’s largest meeting, one of the unique aspects of the AAD annual meeting is its placement on the calendar. While many organizations opt for end of year or mid-year meetings, the AAD annual meeting typically occurs in Q1 and, for many, sets the tone for the remainder of the year.

With this in mind, the editorial team of HCPLive Dermatology included a simple question on the end of our interviews from the meeting with 9 leading subject matter experts in dermatology: “What is going to be the most important storyline to watch for dermatology for the rest of 2025?”

In the above video, we highlight the perspectives of these experts. Below, you can find a brief summary of the backgrounds and expertise of each individual included in this feature video.

, is a professor and vice chair for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the Perelman School of Medicine. She also serves as president of the American Academy of Dermatology.

, is chairman at Innovaderm Research. He is also the principal investigator of the ICONIC-LEAD trial, which was presented at AAD 2025.

, is a dermatologist and internal medicine specialist with Riverchase Dermatology.

, is an associate professor of Dermatology for the USC Keck School of Medicine. She is the founding director of the USC Skin of Color and Pigmentary Disorders Program and also the president of the Skin of Color Society.

, is the owner of Medical Dermatology Specialists, chief of inpatient dermatology at BannerHealth, and the founder of US Dermatology Partners.

, is a dermatologist and the medical director at the SKiN Centre for Dermatology.

, is an associate professor in dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine.

, is the director of the Advanced Acne Therapeutics Clinic at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the co-chair of the American Academy of Dermatology Acne Guidelines Work Group.

, is vice chair of research in dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and director of the Mark Lebwohl Center for Neuroinflammation and Sensation.

American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting

 in Orlando, Christopher Bunick, MD, PhD, associate professor in dermatology at the Yale School of Medicine, gave a presentation titled ‘Update on Antiobiotics for Acne and Rosacea.’

 editorial team at the AAD meeting to highlight the takeaways from his talk regarding this update, first highlighting news in the rosacea space.

Updates on Acne and Rosacea Treatments, with Christopher Bunick, MD, PhD

“My focus was on antibiotics…and the truth is, the antibiotic space moves very slowly in acne and rosacea these days,” Bunick said. “However, I'll start with rosacea. Usually, rosacea takes second fiddle to acne. But today we'll put rosacea first, because we have a new extended release, low-dose minocycline that has just been approved for the treatment of rosacea. Why is this important? This particular minocycline product in the clinical trials was actually compared not just to placebo, but head to head, to an authorized doxycycline low dose 40 milligram, an authorized generic is what we call it.

Bunick noted that the extended-release minocycline was shown to have outperformed the authorized generic of the doxycycline low dose 40 milligrams by 20 - 30 percentage points in terms of achieving Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) success indicating skin clearance.

“This is really profound, because it has the implications to say that this particular medication may be very effective or potentially more effective in the treatment of popular postulate rosacea,” Bunick explained.

Next, Bunick highlighted a portion of his talk regarding the notable concept of antibiotic stewardship, a topic he states often gets misunderstood by clinicians.

“Some people think antibiotic stewardship means not to use antibiotics at all,” Bunick said. “But it turns out, in medicine, they're great for treating infection but they have, especially the tetracycline class, incredible anti-inflammatory properties. We harness those anti-inflammatory properties every day in dermatology, not just for acne, not just for rosacea, but across the gamut of diseases, including immunobullous diseases like bullous pemphigoid and including other post-sebaceous unit diseases like hidradenitis.”

Bunick added that antibiotics are implemented all the time, adding that this is why he has always been a believer that dermatologists are honorary gastroenterologists.

“So when we give antibiotics, we are affecting the gut microbiome,” Bunick said. “What we don't want to do is cause gut dysbiosis, or certainly don't want to cause harmful gut dysbiosis to high levels. This is where broad-spectrum antibiotics tend to have more gut dysbiosis, whereas narrow-spectrum antibiotics…[by which] I mean antibiotics that focus on gram-positive bacteria way more than gram-negative bacteria, which make up most of the gut bacteria. Broad-spectrum antibiotics are really hitting both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria at really high levels. So this is why we can protect the gut microbiome, which has health implications for the whole patient by using narrow-spectrum antibiotics.”

Bunick highlighted his presentation of patient photos in which they had used oral narrow-spectrum antibiotics for the treatment of staphylococcus aureus infections.

“In the case of rosacea, using these narrow-spectrum antibiotics can affect and improve the inflammation component of rosacea,” Bunick said. “It also can improve infections, especially staph infections. It's really good to know that.”

To find out more about this topic, view Bunick’s full video posted above the summary. For more from AAD 2025, view our 

The quotes used in this video summary were edited for clarity. Bunick’s disclosures include the following: Consultant (Fees): AbbVie, Almirall, Apogee Therapeutics, Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Botanix Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly, LEO Pharma, LiVDerm, Pfizer, Regeneron, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Teladoc Health; Advisory Board (Fees/Honoraria): Almirall, Dermatology Times, LEO Pharma, Novartis, Ortho Dermatologics, Pfizer, Sanofi, South Beach Symposium, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, UCB; Investigator (Grants/Research Funding): AbbVie, Almirall, Daiichi Sankyo, Ortho Dermatologics, Palvella Therapeutics, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Timber Pharmaceuticals.

In this interview with Christopher Bunick, MD, PhD, at AAD 2025, he discusses his update given in a presentation regarding acne and rosacea treatments.

Christopher G. Bunick, MD, PhD

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