Highlighting PRIME Study Findings on Dupilumab for Prurigo Nodularis, With Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD

At the 2025 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Congress in Paris, a poster was presented titled ‘The Physical and Emotional Burden of Prurigo Nodularis in Adult Patients: Impact of Dupilumab on Itch, Pain, and Skin-Related Distress in PRIME 1/2.’1

These data on dupilumab (Dupixent) from the PRIME and PRIME2 studies were discussed in a recent interview with Raj Chovatiya, MD, PhD, clinical associate professor at Rosalind Franklin University Chicago Medical School, and director of the Center for Medical Dermatology and Immunology Research. Chovatiya was asked about the significance of these poster data for prurigo nodularis.

“This study was an analysis of previously presented phase 3 data that specifically looked at tupilimab in patients with prurigo nodularis,” Chovatiya explained. “...And the question we really had with this particular analysis was, [given that] we've seen clinical data to really take a look at how well dupilumab performs on some of the clinician-assessed signs of the disease itself, what about the patient perspective?”

Chovatiya was asked during the interview about unmet needs remaining for patients living with the burden associated with prurigo nodularis, a condition characterized by intensely pruritic, fibrotic nodular lesions.2

“Our patients would say one of their most important things is they want relief of symptoms, and itch is obviously a key and core symptom for patients,” Chovatiya said. “It's highly intense. But that doesn't mean that itch is the only symptom. Many of our patients experience a high burden of skin pain, stinging, numbing, tingling, and essentially situations where their skin is not where it should be. That is very highly intertwined with the inflammatory lesions. So I think people oftentimes forget that this is not a disease of just itch, and it's not a disease of just bumps or ulcerations or erosions, but rather of both of these together.”

Chovatiya was later asked about what he felt were the most important findings on dupilumab highlighted in his team’s poster data at EADV.

“Sure enough, following dupilumab treatment, over the course of several months, individuals had highly substantial numerical improvements in terms of the proportions of them able to achieve basically complete control, or near complete control, in each of these different parameters,” Chovatiya said. “So the bottom line findings here are that we know that dupilumab works simply based on its approval and phase 3 data. But this is really nice information that we can combine with that to tell our patients that…many of the issues related to how you lead your life as a result of the disease are going to improve alongside the signs and symptoms of the disease itself.”

For any additional information on this poster data, view the full interview posted above.

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

Chovatiya previously reported serving as an advisor, consultant, speaker, and/or investigator for AbbVie, Amgen, Apogee Therapeutics, Arcutis, Argenx, ASLAN Pharmaceuticals, Beiersdorf, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Cara Therapeutics, Dermavant, Eli Lilly and Company, FIDE, Formation Bio, Galderma, Genentech, GSK, Incyte, LEO Pharma, L’Oréal, Nektar Therapeutics, Novartis, Opsidio, Pfizer Inc., Regeneron, RAPT, Sanofi, Sitryx, and UCB.

References

1. Ständer S, Chovatiya R, Wiggins S, et al. The Physical and Emotional Burden of Prurigo Nodularis in Adult Patients: Impact of Dupilumab on Itch, Pain, and Skin-Related Distress in PRIME 1/2. Presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) 2025 Congress. Paris, France. September 17-20, 2025.

2. Kwatra SG, Pereira MP, Wiggins S, et al. Prurigo nodularis: disease burden, clinical features and approach to management. Br J Dermatol. 2025 Sep 18;193(4):642-652. doi: 10.1093/bjd/ljaf213. PMID: 40665436.