Lebrikizumab Effectively Treats AD in Patients with Skin of Color, With Vinay Mehta, MD

A phase 3b open-label trial conducted exclusively in people of color found that lebrikizumab effectively treats moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) in non-White patients.2

Vinay Mehta, MD, a board-certified allergist/immunologist with Allergy & Asthma Associates of Southern California, presented findings of ADmirable at the 2025 American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, which took place in Orlando, Florida, from November 6 – 10.1,3 At the meeting, HCPLive sat down with Mehta to discuss the significance of these findings and any safety concerns clinicians should be aware of when treating patients with skin of color using lebrikizumab.

“The safety was similar to what we saw in the larger phase 3 trials,” Mehta said. “Some of the common things we need to watch out for are conjunctivitis, which can occur often. It is transient, but certainly can occur in patients, especially those with severe atopic dermatitis. The other side effect is injection site reactions. At the site of the injection, there may be pain, there may be discomfort, there may be itching. Again, it didn't really differ from what we found in the broader pivotal trials.”

Lebrikizumab is a high-affinity, selective IL-13 inhibitor designed to block IL-13 signaling, a central driver of type 2 inflammation in AD. Mehta explained that the biologic has a slow dissociation rate, allowing sustained receptor engagement, an aspect that enables clinicians to decrease injection frequency after the initial 16-week induction phase in responsive patients. This pharmacologic durability helps support longer-term disease control while reducing treatment burden.

Data from the ADmirable trial, which exclusively enrolled patients with Fitzpatrick skin types IV–VI and patients who self-identified as either Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, or Asian, showed that lebrikizumab achieved comparable efficacy outcomes across darker skin tones. Mehta noted that EASI-75 and IGA 0/1 response rates were consistent across Fitzpatrick IV, V, and VI groups, aligning with results from larger phase 3 programs. These findings complement earlier observations from the first half of the study: by week 16, 70% of patients reached EASI-75 and nearly half achieved clear or almost-clear skin.

In the interview, Menta also discussed how to incorporate this data into discussions with patients regarding realistic expectations for disease control. Mehta said a key message for clinicians is to integrate these findings into shared decision-making, particularly by setting expectations that go beyond skin clearance.

“It's not just about the skin. It's not just about the itch. These patients often suffer in terms of quality of life, in terms of work productivity,” Mehta said.

He emphasized the importance of using patient-reported outcome questionnaires, such as the Atopic Dermatitis Tool.

“I think that should be something that everyone should use,” he said. “We need to be cognizant, particularly in patients of skin color, that oftentimes they have certain challenges. Sometimes their disease severity is not recognized just because the erythema is a little bit more difficult to appreciate in these patients. It can present differently compared to what we normally see in the white population, so it's important to be mindful of that. It's also important to…know that there is a biologic that specifically was studied in patients [with] of skin color and that seems to work just as well as in the broader population with a similar side effect profile.”

References

1. Mehta, V. Lebrikizumab Improves Disease Control and Work Activity in Atopic Dermatitis Patients With Skin of Color. Presented at ACAAI 2025 in Orlando, Florida, from November 6 – 10.

2. Alexis A, Moiin A, Waibel J, et al. Efficacy and Safety of Lebrikizumab in Adult and Adolescent Patients with Skin of Color and Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis: Results from the Phase IIIb, Open-Label ADmirable Study. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2025;26(5):803-817. doi:10.1007/s40257-025-00970-8

3. Derman, C. Lebrikizumab Benefits AD Patients With Skin of Color, With Vinay Mehta, MD. HCPLive. https://www.hcplive.com/view/lebrikizumab-benefits-ad-patients-skin-of-color-vinay-mehta-md. Accessed November 17, 2025.