Linda Stein Gold, MD, is a dermatologist at Henry Ford Health. 

Linda Stein Gold, MD

Roughly 80% of participants in the pivotal phase 3 ADORING 1 and ADORING 2 trials of tapinarof cream 1% (VTAMA) were pediatric patients with moderate to severe 

, reflecting an enrollment strategy designed to generate robust safety and efficacy data across childhood age groups.

A new post hoc pooled analysis presented at the 2026 Society for Pediatric Dermatology (SPD) Annual Meeting breaks down the trials' efficacy findings by 4 discrete age cohorts: 2 to 6, 7 to 11, 12 to 17, and 18 years and older.

The nonsteroidal, once-daily aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonist is FDA approved for AD in adults and pediatric patients 2 years and older. In the new analysis, each individual age subgroup showed statistically significant separation from vehicle on the study's primary endpoints, including vIGA-AD response of clear or almost clear skin and EASI 75.

 The trials were not powered to compare age groups against one another directly, but every pediatric cohort separated from vehicle.

"Each one of these analyses showed they were statistically better than the vehicle in getting those high benchmarks of clear or almost clear or an EASI 75 response," said Linda Stein Gold, MD, director of dermatology clinical research, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, Michigan.

Stein Gold explained atopic dermatitis is a heterogeneous disease across the lifespan, and drug tolerability and efficacy signals in a toddler cannot be assumed to mirror those in a middle-aged adult. Confirming consistent efficacy at each developmental stage was the impetus for stratifying the pooled data set rather than reporting outcomes in aggregate alone.

In the following interview, Linda Stein Gold, MD, spoke with 

 at the 2026 SPD Annual Meeting about the age-stratified ADORING findings and their significance for pediatric management of atopic dermatitis:

HCPLive: Can you give an overview of the main ADORING 1 and 2 findings on tapinarof cream for atopic dermatitis?

 This was an interesting study because we looked at tapinarof, a topical nonsteroidal cream FDA approved for atopic dermatitis. In the phase 3 clinical trials, there were two studies that looked at the active drug versus the vehicle, and we looked at pediatric patients down to age 2, all the way up through adults. What was nice about this study was that 80% of the patients who participated were pediatric patients. Initially, we just presented the data as a whole, but this poster broke down the data by the different age groups. We looked at 2 to 6, 7 to 11, 12 to 17, and then those patients who were 18 or older. The real reason for doing this is to make sure this drug works well across all the different age groups, and that's exactly what we found. Each of these analyses showed they were statistically better than the vehicle in getting those high benchmarks of clear or almost clear or an EASI 75 response.

HCPLive: Why is age stratification so important for this analysis?

 I think stratifying by age and really looking to make sure a drug works in each of the age groups is important because this is such a heterogeneous disease. We know an infant's atopic dermatitis or a 2-year-old's atopic dermatitis might be different than a 40-year-old's, and they might react differently. They might tolerate the drug differently, there might be different efficacy signs, and so I do think it's important to really do an analysis and a deep dive to make sure we see consistent efficacy across the age groups, and that is what we found.

HCPLive: How meaningful is the early week 2 response for patients and clinicians managing atopic dermatitis?

 Atopic dermatitis is a chronic condition. For a lot of patients, they get it as babies, and they might have it their entire life, and some people get it as older children or even as adults. The main thing is this is a chronic disease. For some patients it never goes away; they always have some signs and symptoms of the disease. So you can imagine how exhausting it is every single day to wake up and have red, inflamed, itchy skin. If we give a patient a new treatment and they start to see some improvement early on, especially within the first two weeks, that's actually quite exciting. It's exciting for the patient, but it's also exciting for the prescriber, for the dermatologist, to see it's actually working. If they see something early, they're more likely to stick with their treatment regimen and get the best results.

Editor's Note: This transcript has been edited for grammar and clarity using artificial intelligence tools.

Disclosures for Stein Gold include AbbVie, Amgen, Arcutis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Organon Health, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB.

Organon. New analysis of phase 3 pooled data for Organon's VTAMA (tapinarof) cream, 1%, demonstrates early, consistent improvements in atopic dermatitis patients across pediatric age groups and in adults. News release. Organon. Published July 24, 2026. Accessed August 5, 2026. 

https://www.organon.com/news/new-analysis-of-phase-3-pooled-data-for-organons-vtama-tapinarof-cream-1-demonstrates-early-consistent-improvements-in-atopic-dermatitis-patients-across-pediatric-age-groups-and-in/

Silverberg JI, Eichenfield LF, Hebert AA, et al. Tapinarof cream 1% once daily: significant efficacy in the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis in adults and children down to 2 years of age in the pivotal phase 3 ADORING trials. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2024;91(3):487-495. doi:

Articles

Tapinarof cream 1% (VTAMA), a once-daily nonsteroidal aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonist approved for atopic dermatitis in patients ≥2 years, showed consistent efficacy across pediatric developmental stages in pooled phase 3 ADORING 1/2 data. Roughly 80% of enrolled patients were pediatric, enabling age-stratified assessment (2–6, 7–11, 12–17, ≥18). Each subgroup demonstrated statistically significant separation from vehicle on key endpoints, including vIGA-AD clear/almost clear and EASI 75. Early improvement by week 2 was emphasized as adherence-reinforcing in chronic disease.

Linda Stein Gold, MD, discusses age-stratified ADORING data on tapinarof cream for atopic dermatitis, presented at the 2026 SPD Annual Meeting.

Age-Stratified ADORING Data Show Consistent Tapinarof Efficacy in Eczema

High-bar response endpoints, including vIGA-AD scores of clear or almost clear skin and EASI 75, a 75% improvement in disease severity from baseline, have become the standard efficacy benchmark the 

In the pooled phase 3 ADORING 1 and ADORING 2 population, most enrolled patients had significant baseline disease, with many meeting typical criteria for systemic therapy candidacy, yet achieved these high-bar responses with a once-daily nonsteroidal topical cream by Week 8.

Topical corticosteroids remain the mainstay of atopic dermatitis treatment for many pediatric patients, offering effective short-term control but posing limitations for the long-term, body-wide management this chronic disease often requires.

 A single nonsteroidal option applicable across multiple body surface areas, including the face and skin folds, can simplify a treatment regimen that might otherwise require several separate products.

Tapinarof cream 1% (VTAMA) is also FDA approved for plaque psoriasis in adults, positioning it within a broader class of nonsteroidal options intended to reduce reliance on topical steroids across chronic inflammatory skin diseases.

 Despite this expanding approval down to age 2, pediatric atopic dermatitis remains an area of substantial unmet need, particularly for infants and toddlers younger than the currently studied population.

Linda Stein Gold, MD, director of dermatology clinical research, Henry Ford Health, Detroit, Michigan, discusses the clinical implications of the ADORING age-stratified findings and where treatment gaps remain in the youngest patients with atopic dermatitis. The following Q&A highlights her views discussed in the interview:

HCPLive: What do endpoints like EASI 75 and vIGA-AD tell us about treatment response?

 It's interesting because I've been doing clinical trials my entire career, and when I first started, our bars for treatment success were very low. Now the FDA mandates we have these really high bars. Clear or almost clear means the skin is completely clear all over the body, or there might be a little bit of pink skin. That's really impressive. EASI 75 is a 75% improvement from where they started. What we have to realize is the patients who came into this study had significant disease. On average, they were candidates for systemic therapy. So the fact we can use a nonsteroidal topical cream once a day and see these high benchmarks as early as 8 weeks is really important.

HCPLive: How might these findings influence how clinicians manage atopic dermatitis across age groups?

 We have needed better treatment options, especially for our youngest atopic patients. We've turned to topical steroids as the mainstay of therapy, and they're a good short-term solution, but they're not a long-term solution, and this is a long-term problem. We need better options that are not steroids and can be used on multiple body surface areas. This helps simplify the treatment regimen. Imagine instead of giving patients four or five things to do, we can give them one thing to do that they can use on all body surface areas, including the face, the skin folds, the thicker areas, the hands, and they can use it to get the disease under control and keep it under control.

HCPLive: What unmet needs remain in pediatric atopic dermatitis?

 The good news is we have treatment options that are great and nonsteroidal that go down to age 2. But I'd love to see these medications like tapinarof being studied in even younger populations, a 3-month-old or a 4-month-old. So I think we have an unmet need for our even younger patients.

Disclosures for Stein Gold include AbbVie, Amgen, Arcutis, Bristol Myers Squibb, Organon Health, Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Pfizer, and UCB

Organon. Organon to present new analysis on VTAMA (tapinarof) cream, 1%, at the 2026 Society for Pediatric Dermatology Annual Meeting. News release. Organon. Published March 27, 2026. Accessed August 5, 2026. 

https://www.organon.com/news/organon-debuts-new-analysis-of-vtama-tapinarof-cream-1-phase-3-pooled-data-demonstrating-early-and-consistent-skin-clearance-and-itch-improvement-in-atopic-dermatitis-patients-down-to-2-year/

High-bar FDA endpoints for atopic dermatitis trials now emphasize vIGA-AD clear/almost clear and EASI 75. In pooled phase 3 ADORING 1/2 data, patients with substantial baseline disease—often meeting systemic-therapy candidacy—achieved these benchmarks by Week 8 with once-daily tapinarof cream 1%, a nonsteroidal topical. Broader, steroid-sparing use across sensitive and intertriginous areas may simplify multi-product regimens. Despite approvals down to age 2, major evidence gaps persist for infants and younger toddlers.

Linda Stein Gold, MD, discusses ADORING trial endpoints and remaining treatment gaps in the youngest patients with atopic dermatitis.

Q&A: Tapinarof Data Highlight Unmet Pediatric Needs in Atopic Dermatitis

Patients with significant baseline disease reached high efficacy benchmarks by week 8 on tapinarof cream.

Tapinarof offers a non-steroidal option usable on all body surface areas, simplifying treatment regimens.

Unmet needs remain for patients younger than 2 years, an area for future study.

 from the ADORING 1 and ADORING 2 phase 3 trials continue to reinforce tapinarof cream, 1% (VTAMA) as a treatment option for 

 across a broad range of patients, according to Linda Stein Gold, MD.

 interview, Stein Gold, known for her role as director of Dermatology Clinical Research and division head of Dermatology at Henry Ford Health, Stein Gold highlighted some of the implications of her team’s findings on tapinarof cream 1%.

What EASI 75, vIGA-AD Scores Reveal About Tapinarof's Eczema Efficacy

What Do EASI 75 and vIGA-AD Scores Reveal About Treatment Response?

Stein Gold noted that regulatory benchmarks for treatment success have grown considerably more stringent over the course of her career. She explained that current 

 standards for clear or almost-clear skin, as measured by vIGA-AD, represent a high bar, while EASI 75 reflects a 75% improvement from baseline.

Given that most trial participants had disease severe enough to be candidates for systemic therapy, she said achieving these benchmarks with a once-daily, non-steroidal topical cream by week 8 represents a meaningful clinical result.

How Could These Findings Influence Atopic Dermatitis Management Across Age Groups?

Stein Gold said clinicians have long relied on topical steroids as a short-term mainstay of atopic dermatitis therapy, despite the chronic nature of the disease. She emphasized the value of non-steroidal options that can be applied across multiple body surface areas, including the face, skin folds, and hands, to simplify treatment regimens and support longer-term disease control.

What Unmet Needs Remain in Pediatric Atopic Dermatitis?

Looking ahead, Stein Gold pointed to tapinarof's expanding role across chronic inflammatory skin diseases, noting its existing approval down to age 2 in atopic dermatitis and its FDA approval in psoriasis. She anticipates non-steroidal options will increasingly limit steroid use in clinical practice.

However, she identified younger pediatric patients, including infants as young as 3 to 4 months, as a population in need of further study, calling it a key unmet need in atopic dermatitis care.

New Analysis of Phase 3 Pooled Data for Organon’s VTAMA® (tapinarof) cream, 1%, Demonstrates Early, Consistent Improvements in Atopic Dermatitis Patients Across Pediatric Age Groups and in Adults. Organon. July 24, 2026. Accessed July 31, 2026. 

Fonacier L, Boguniewicz M, Ohayon J, et al. Tapinarof cream 1% in atopic dermatitis: consistent efficacy across age groups from pooled ADORING trials. Poster presented at: Society for Pediatric Dermatology (SPD) Annual Meeting; July 23, 2026; Minneapolis, MN.

Videos

Linda Stein Gold, MD, explains what new ADORING data reveal about tapinarof cream for atopic dermatitis across age cohorts.

Tapinarof cream (VTAMA) demonstrated consistent efficacy across pediatric and adult age groups.

Clinical improvements in eczema were observed as early as Week 2 and continued through Week 8.

Age-stratified analyses reinforce confidence in treating a heterogeneous atopic dermatitis population.

New analyses of the pivotal phase 3 ADORING 1 and ADORING 2 trials continue to strengthen the evidence supporting tapinarof cream, 1% (VTAMA) as a treatment option for 

 during the 2026 Society for Pediatric Dermatology (SPD) Annual Meeting, Linda Stein Gold, MD, director of Dermatology Clinical Research at Henry Ford Health, discussed findings from a post hoc analysis that, for the first time, examined efficacy outcomes separately among pediatric and adult age groups.

Age-Stratified Phase 3 Data Support Tapinarof Cream in Pediatric Eczema

Stein Gold explained that the analysis evaluated tapinarof cream, a nonsteroidal topical aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonist approved for adults and pediatric patients aged 2 years and older with atopic dermatitis, across patients aged 2 years through adulthood. Although the original phase 3 program demonstrated overall efficacy, approximately 80% of enrolled participants were pediatric patients.

Separating the data by age allowed investigators to determine whether treatment effects remained consistent among younger children, adolescents, and adults. According to Stein Gold, the findings showed statistically significant improvements over vehicle in every age subgroup for key efficacy endpoints, reinforcing the consistency of the therapy's performance across a heterogeneous patient population.

Early Improvement May Support Long-Term Treatment Success

The pooled analysis demonstrated improvements with tapinarof cream as early as Week 2, with responses continuing through Week 8. By Week 8, significantly more patients receiving tapinarof achieved Validated Investigator Global Assessment for Atopic Dermatitis (vIGA-AD) success compared with vehicle across every age group.

This included children aged 2–6 years (56.3% vs 11.8%; 

= .0172), 12–17 years (48.8% vs 13.4%; 

= .0280). Similar statistically significant advantages were observed for EASI75 responses, with rates reaching 70.2% versus 20.5% among the youngest children and remaining consistently higher than vehicle across all other age groups.

Stein Gold noted that evaluating outcomes by age is clinically important because atopic dermatitis presents differently throughout life. Disease characteristics, treatment response, and tolerability may vary between toddlers, adolescents, and adults, making subgroup analyses particularly valuable for clinicians. She emphasized that the consistent efficacy observed across each cohort provides reassurance that tapinarof performs similarly despite the disease's heterogeneity.

Significance of Findings on Tapinarof Cream

Stein Gold also highlighted the practical significance of early improvement. Because atopic dermatitis is a chronic disease that often begins in infancy and can persist for years, rapid symptom relief may encourage patients and families to remain adherent to treatment.

From a clinician's perspective, seeing meaningful improvement within the first several weeks can reinforce confidence that therapy is working, helping support continued treatment and, ultimately, better long-term outcomes.

Silverberg JI, Eichenfield LF, Hebert AA, et al. Tapinarof cream 1% once daily: Significant efficacy in the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis in adults and children down to 2 years of age in the pivotal phase 3 ADORING trials. 

New phase 3 data show tapinarof cream (VTAMA) delivered early, consistent efficacy across pediatric and adult age groups with atopic dermatitis.