Gil Yosipovitch, MD: New Analysis of Data on Patient Satisfaction with Dupilumab for Prurigo Nodularis

In an interview with the editorial team of HCPLive, Gil Yosipovitch, MD, spoke on the findings of a recent analysis of dupilumab treatment in the LIBERTY-PN PRIME and PRIME 2 trials and satisfaction among prurigo nodularis (PN) patients who could not reach the studies’ multicomponent endpoints.

Yosipovitch discussed this data following its presentation at the 2023 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) conference. Yosipovitch is known for his work as professor of dermatology for the Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami.

“This trial is part of a post-hoc analysis of results that we presented and published this year in Nature Medicine showing that dupilumab is a excellent treatment for prurigo nodularis, in terms of significant improvement of itch as well as the significant clearance of the lesions that are scarred lesions, the prurigo nodules. This led to the approval of this drug which is in the market. But this study showed something of real-world information that I think is important for dermatologists to understand because not all the patients achieve the endpoints that are required in the study.”

Yosipovitch noted that the real question is whether patients treated with dupilumab for their PN are actually happy with the treatment.

“I think this is a very relevant question, sometimes, with our patients because there are very, very strict guidelines on what is an effective treatment,” Yosipovitch said. “But in this study, what we looked at is the patients’ global impression and the severity, with the patients self-assessed before, after, or during the treatment with dupilumab.”

Yosipovitch explained that the findings indicated several key findings regarding patients’ impressions.

“What it shows is that, first of all, two thirds of patients…had a significant impression that their condition had improved significantly,” he said. “But it's important to note that up to 50% of patients who did not reach the endpoints that were planned in the study, they still feel that there is a significant improvement, both in their itch and their skin lesions.”

Yosipovitch explained that this is important to note because it demonstrates how the drug can improve the quality of life of PN patients, even if they are shown not to achieve the more robust endpoints.

To learn more about the data presented at EADV, view the full interview segment above.

The quotes used in this description were edited for the purposes of clarity.