Top 5 Atopic Dermatitis Stories DERM 2025 NP/PA Conference

Throughout recent years, a wide array of US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved medications have become available for clinicians in the treatment of the widespread inflammatory skin condition, atopic dermatitis.

There are also a number of treatments for atopic dermatitis currently being evaluated in clinical trial programs. A variety of recent data on some of these medications for atopic dermatitis was showcased during the Dermatology Education Foundation (DERM) 2025 NP/PA CME Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The following list highlights 5 notable articles published by the HCPLive editorial team as part of its coverage of the DERM 2025 meeting:

1. Patients with Atopic Dermatitis with High Itch, Low BSA Improve with Lebrikizumab

A notable poster covered during the DERM 2025 meeting showed that a subpopulation of patients with atopic dermatitis that maintained low levels of body surface area (BSA) involvement and high levels of itch had significant disease control and positive itch effects after using lebrikizumab therapy. Investigators such as Shawn Kwatra, MD, a Joseph Warren Burnett Professor of Dermatology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, authored this poster data.

The ADvocate 1 and 2 trials were 52-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 studies. Kwatra et al highlighted in the poster data that the lower BSA and higher itch subpopulation is commonly underrepresented within clinical trials in dermatology. However, they noted that this subpopulation is often seen in clinical practice settings, demonstrating the need for additional investigation.

2. Tralokinumab Effective in Head, Neck Atopic Dermatitis After 9 Months of Treatment

One study highlighted in HCPLive’s DERM 2025 coverage concluded that up to 9 months of tralokinumab use diminishes head and neck atopic dermatitis severity and improves patients’ quality of life in real-world settings. These interim findings further suggested that all such improvements were similar regardless of prior use of dupilumab.

These poster data were authored by such investigators as April W. Armstrong, MD, MPH, Professor and Chief of Dermatology at UCLA and Chair Emeritus of the Medical Board of the National Psoriasis Foundation. Armstrong and coauthors focused on trial subjects with scalp, facial, or neck involvement at baseline. Peak Pruritus Numeric Rating Scale (PP-NRS), Investigator’s Global Assessment (IGA), Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), disease location, RECAP (The RECap for AtoPic eczema), and Sleep NRS were all evaluated as clinical outcomes in the team’s research.

3. Patients with Atopic Dermatitis See Treatment-Free Disease Control with Tralokinumab Use

In another study highlighted in a poster session at DERM 2025, results showed that approximately 40% of patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis who respond to tralokinumab therapy may maintain disease control for up to 6 months following cessation. Overall, those who maintained disease control for 6 months did not need rescue therapy, and such participants tended to have milder disease at the point of baseline.

These data would suggest a potential remittive effect of interleukin (IL)-13 inhibition. The poster was authored by such investigators as Andrew Blauvelt, MD, MBA, president of Oregon Medical Research Center. Blauvelt and his team’s findings resulted from a post hoc analysis of pooled data from the phase 3 ECZTRA 1 and ECZTRA 2 trial program.

4. Safety of Roflumilast Cream 0.05% in Infants and Toddlers with Atopic Dermatitis, with Adelaide Hebert, MD

In this interview conducted at DERM 2025, new phase 2 findings on roflumilast cream 0.05% (Zoryve) were highlighted, suggesting that the drug may be considered safe as a treatment for patients aged 3 months to 2 years with atopic dermatitis. These phase 2 findings from the INTEGUMENT-INFANT trial program were discussed by trial investigator Adelaide Hebert, MD, a professor and director of pediatric dermatology with McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. Hebert spoke with HCPLive about the study and its most notable takeaways for patients in this younger age cohort with atopic dermatitis.

“One of the things that was determined in this clinical trial was that the outcome was favorable, and that was, of course, what we anticipated, given that we had such good data on older patients in 4-week studies,” Hebert explained. “The delta in terms of placebo versus active drug in our older patients was significant, and it was early in onset. So again, we felt very confident using this lower concentration in our younger cohorts, with the expected outcome that we would see positive results. That is indeed what we were able to achieve during this particular clinical trial.”

5. Implications of Findings on Roflumilast Cream 0.05% for Atopic Dermatitis, with Adelaide Hebert, MD

In this second segment of her interview at DERM 2025, Adelaide Hebert, MD, spoke in with HCPLive about her team’s positive findings on roflumilast cream 0.05% (Zoryve) in patients aged 3 months to 2 years with atopic dermatitis. Specifically, she spoke about unmet needs in patients within this younger age bracket as well as what she feels are the biggest takeaways from her team’s phase 2 INTEGUMENT-INFANT trial data.

“We do have one biologic agent that is FDA-approved down to 6 months of age, and that has helped tremendously,” Hebert said. “But children are averse to shots. Some parents don't want their children to undergo a shot, even though it's usually only a once-a-month dosing. So we really are extremely limited with efficacious and safe medicines in the group under 2 years of age. We now hope to bring forward a medication that absolutely will be able to achieve the successful landmarks that the FDA requires.”

For more from DERM 2025, view the latest conference coverage.

References

1. Kwatra S, Werfel T, Mayo T, et al. Lebrikizumab Improves Atopic Dermatitis in Patients with Limited Skin Involvement and High Itch. Poster presented at the DERM 2025 NP/PA CME Conference; July 23 - 26, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada.

2. Blauvelt A, Bhutani T, Chovatiya R, et al. Treatment-Free Disease Control After Tralokinumab in Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis. Poster presented at the DERM 2025 NP/PA CME Conference; July 23 - 26, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada.

3. Armstrong A, Ameen A, Pink A, et al. Real-world effectiveness of tralokinumab in adults with atopic dermatitis: Interim data on improvements in patients with head and neck atopic dermatitis after up to 9 months of treatment in the TRACE study. Poster presented at the DERM 2025 NP/PA CME Conference; July 23 - 26, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada.

4. Hebert A, Eichenfield L, Burnett P, et al. INTEGUMENT-INFANT: A Phase 2, 4-Week Open-Label Safety Study of Roflumilast Cream 0.05% in Infants Aged 3 Months to Less than 2 Years Old With Mild-to-Moderate Atopic Dermatitis. Poster presented at the DERM 2025 NP/PA CME Conference; July 23 - 26, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada.