Andrew F. Alexis, MD, MPH: Findings on Lebrikizumab for Patients with Atopic Dermatitis, Skin of Color

Lebrikizumab was shown to be efficacious among adults and adolescents with skin of color and moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, according to a recent interim analysis of the open-label ADmirable phase 3b study.

These findings were described by Andrew F. Alexis, MD, MPH, who spoke with the HCPLive editorial team at the 2024 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting on his team’s late-breaking data and its implications. Alexis is the department of dermatology’s vice-chair for diversity and professor of clinical dermatology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.

“This study was called the ADmirable study and is an interim analysis at week 16 of a 24-week open label study involving adult and adolescent patients who have moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis but also have skin of color,” Alexis said. “What this study is very helpful for is adding to the body of data for treating atopic dermatitis and patients with skin of color, which is a population that has historically been underrepresented in clinical trials in general, including in atopic dermatitis.”

Alexis was asked about the key findings or interim results from the study regarding the efficacy of lebrikizumab in treating atopic dermatitis.

“When looking at the efficacy of lebrikizumab in this patient population, robust efficacy was demonstrated that was consistent with data from other phase 3 studies involving lebrikizumab,” Alexis said. “It was also notable that there were no new safety signals and no serious adverse events. I will add that the study did include some novel endpoints that we don't see in other studies. Specifically, we measured the severity of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation using a novel scale called PDCA-DERM.”

Alexis noted that PDCA-DERM allowed the investigators to assess post-inflammatory hyper or hypopigmentation over time. He added that it was reassuring to see that a subset of patients did demonstrate improvement in post-inflammatory hyperpigmented lesions from baseline to Week 16.

“The main takeaways were that in this study of lebrikizumab, a specific patient population that has been, up to date, under-studied in a study that included patients with skin of color, specifically, we demonstrated robust efficacy of lebrikizumab,” Alexis said. “No new safety signals, no adverse events, and improvement in post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and a subset of patients using a novel scale. I will add, as far as another unique aspect of the study, that it included objective measurement of melanin pigment using a device called a Mexameter, where one can measure melanin index, as well as a tool to objectively measure erythema called Scarletred.”

For further information on Alexis’s research, view the full interview segment posted above.

The quotes contained here were edited for the purposes of clarity.