According to a report from Medscape, excitement is growing around emerging novel therapeutics for patients with dermatomyositis and cutaneous lupus erythematosus.
Experts explained that patients with dermatomyositis experience skin- and muscle-related symptoms. Physicians use Cutaneous Dermatomyositis Disease Area and Severity Index activity scores to determine whether patients have moderate to severe disease. A novel intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) preparation was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2021 to treat dermatomyositis following positive findings from the ProDERM study. Researchers found that 79% of patients who received IVIG experienced a total improvement score of at least 20, compared with 44% of those who received placebo. Additionally, the Janus kinase inhibitors tofacitinib, brepocitinib, and baricitinib may reduce disease severity in patients with recalcitrant or treatment-naive dermatomyositis. The experts also noted that the type 1 interferon beta–targeting agent dazukibart led to minimal clinical improvement in disease activity in over 90% of patients with dermatomyositis involved in a phase II trial.
Patients with lupus may experience skin lesions that can be classified as acute, subacute, or chronic cutaneous lupus. Deucravacitinib—an oral tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor approved by the FDA in 2022 to treat psoriasis—may be able to reduce interleukin responses in these patients. In a recent phase II trial, patients who received deucravacitinib achieved a 56% to 70% improvement in their Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Disease Area and Severity Index–50 responses compared with a 17% improvement among those who received placebo. Further, the type I interferon receptor agonist anifrolumab was approved by the FDA in 2021 for use in patients with moderate to severe lupus. Already, the agent has shown efficacy in patients with refractory cutaneous lupus in case studies and, in a phase III trial, it induced rapid improvement in disease severity scores; however, researchers plan to conduct further studies to more fully understand the benefit of anifrolumab.
“There have been significant advances in the development of treatments for [cutaneous] lupus erythematosus and dermatomyositis. In my opinion, this is the start of what will be the most exciting decade in the history of these two diseases,” concluded Anthony Fernandez, MD, PhD, Director of Medical Dermatology at the Cleveland Clinic.