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Discussing GLP-1s, New Dermatology Therapies in 2026, With Neal Bhatia, MD
Neal Bhatia, MD, speaks in this interview regarding his discussion at Maui Derm Hawaii of new and emerging therapies in dermatology.
The 2026 Maui Derm Hawaii conference featured a session titled ‘New Drugs and Therapies in 2026,’ presented by 2 notable leaders in the dermatology field: Neal Bhatia, MD, and Ted Rosen, MD.1
Bhatia, known for his role as the director of clinical dermatology at Therapeutics Clinical Research, spoke with the HCPLive team in an interview regarding some of the most notable takeaways from his and Rosen’s discussion of newer therapies
“We do what was approved in the last 3 months, what's going to be approved in the next 3 months, and then what's in the pipeline,” Bhatia explained.
The pair of speakers had focused their attention on such therapies as intralesional skin cancer treatments, touching briefly on VP-315. BP-315 is an experimental, first-in-class, injectable oncolytic peptide treatment developed for non-surgical skin cancer management. It primarily is used in basal cell carcinoma (BCC). Additionally, Bhatia noted several updates on topical Janus Kinase (JAK)-inhibitor use and treating chronic hand eczema.
“The pipeline is very rich for some of those systemic agents,” Bhatia said. “Part of the problem is the pipeline is very poor for topical agents. So we're trying to expand the uses of many of the topicals we have, and that was a lot of our discussion.”
Atopic dermatitis was described by Bhatia as having no shortage of drugs in the pipeline. However, he points to the lack of randomized clinical trials in other inflammatory skin diseases, given the smaller patient populations. In particular, he pointed to patients suffering from hives and urticaria. Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) has replicable data.
Consequently, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved medications for urticaria have to go under the category of CSU, Bhatia noted. Omalizumab was FDA-approved in years prior, dupilumab received an approval as well, and remibrutinib is now approved for CSU.2 He later pointed to developments in GLP-1 agonists in dermatology as another new development.
“We did mention the GLP-1s as well,” Bhatia noted. “...There's a lot of good data on reduction of tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-17, some of the other interleukins, but it's also it's big on insulin resistance. You can reduce insulin resistance, you can improve a lot of the inflammatory outcomes as well.”
One should not use GLP-1s alone, Bhatia explained, as it is not an individual cure for any single dermatologic disease. However, adding such treatments on to existing therapy should be considered. As an exmaple, he pointed to weight improvements among patients with psoriasis and hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) leading to wound healing improvements and quality of life improvements.
The quotes included in this interview summary were edited for clarity.
Bhatia has reported serving as an advisor, consultant, and investigator for AbbVie, Almirall, Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Beiersdorf, Biofrontera, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cara Therapeutics, Dermavant Sciences, EPI Health, Ferndale, Galderma, Incyte, ISDIN, Johnson & Johnson, La Roche-Posay, LEO Pharma, Lilly, Ortho Dermatologics, Pfizer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi, Sun Pharma, and Verrica Pharmaceuticals.
References
Rosen T, Bhatia N. New Drugs and Therapies in 2026. Presented at the 2026 Maui Derm Hawaii Conference, January 25-29.
Novartis Pharma AG. Novartis receives FDA approval for Rhapsido® (remibrutinib), the only oral, targeted BTKi treatment for chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU). GlobeNewswire News Room. Published September 30, 2025. Accessed January 27, 2026. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/09/30/3159065/0/en/Novartis-receives-FDA-approval-for-Rhapsido-remibrutinib-the-only-oral-targeted-BTKi-treatment-for-chronic-spontaneous-urticaria-CSU.html.
