Highlighting LIBERTY AD PEDS Findings on Dupilumab for Atopic Dermatitis, With Alan Irvine, MD

In an interview following the 2025 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Congress in Paris, Alan Irvine, MD, professor of dermatology at Trinity College in Ireland, was asked about his team’s presentation of a poster titled ‘Growth Improvement in Children 6-11 Years with Severe Atopic Dermatitis Treated with Dupilumab Irrespective of TCS Use.’1

Children aged 6 - 11 years had been enrolled in this phase 3, 16-week, placebo-controlled study titled LIBERTY AD PEDS study (NCT03345914).1 Findings were highlighted in a prior interview with HCPLive.2 In this segment of his interview, Irvine discussed additional elements notable to his team’s research on dupilumab.

“It's been known, with a degree of scientific certainty, in work Jonathan Silverberg and others did that kids with moderate to severe, and particularly severe, atopic dermatitis do fall behind on their growth curves,” Irvine explained. “This is the first time that in an RCT that growth has been measured in a randomized control trial and has shown that the treatment arm allows those kids to, in some large part, catch up on that hidden growth potential. So that's something parents and caregivers, and children themselves, need to know. It's a positive thing.”

Irvine’s team’s findings on topical corticosteroids (TCS) implementation and the number of treatment-free days. Both had appeared in the study to be independent of the effects of a 16-week dupilumab regimen on increased growth in this 6 - 11-year patient group versus those on placebo. Later, Irvine was asked if there had been any plans developed to follow this cohort longer to assess sustained growth or other health outcomes.

“Some of those PEDS AD studies went into long-term extension studies, but when we're looking specifically at the effect of placebo versus active, it was only out to 16 weeks,” Irvine explained. “So that's the only kind of fair scientific comparison that we had in our paper. Some but not all of those children are in long-term extensions for outcomes. But because they're all on long-term extensions, they know they're on the drug at that point. So it's it's a little harder to tease out the drug effect versus a placebo.”

Lastly, Irvine was asked about what he hopes clinicians walk away with in terms of takeaways about dupilumab, TCS, and atopic dermatitis.

“Atopic dermatitis, particularly when it's severe, it really has a very profound effect on children's health,” Irvine said. “Beyond their skin, their age, and their sleep, their development ties in with their mental health and their performance in school. These are what we might call non-atopic comorbidities. Everybody knows about food allergy, asthma, allergic rhinitis, esophagitis, and so on, but these are really important things early in life.”

For any further information, view Irvine’s interview segment from EADV above.

The quotes used in this interview summary were edited for the purposes of clarity.

Irvine has reported serving as a consultant for AbbVie, Almirall, Arena Pharmaceuticals, BenevolentAI, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Dermavant, Eli Lilly, Genentech, LEO Pharma, Menlo Therapeutics, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, Sanofi, and UCB; as a speaker for AbbVie, Eli Lilly, LEO Pharma, Novartis, Pfizer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, and Sanofi; and as an investigator for AbbVie, DS Biopharma, Inflazome, Novartis, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, and Sanofi.

References

1. Irvine A, Paller A, Cyr S, et al. Growth Improvement in Children 6 to 11 Years Old with Severe Atopic Dermatitis Treated with Dupilumab Irrespective of TCS Use. Presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) 2025 Congress. Paris, France. September 17-20, 2025.

2. Irvine A. Dupilumab Impacts on Children with Atopic Dermatitis Irrespective of TCS, With Alan Irvine, MD. HCPLive. October 14, 2025. Accessed October 15, 2025. https://www.hcplive.com/view/dupilumab-impacts-children-atopic-dermatitis-irrespective-tcs-alan-irvine-md.