Julie Harper, MD: Discussing Acne Treatment Updates, Unmet Needs Among Patients

In this interview with the HCPLive editorial team, Julie Harper, MD, a dermatologist in private practice at the Dermatology and Skin Care Center of Birmingham, spoke about the most significant highlights of the presentation ‘Acne and Rosacea Update 2024.’

This talk was featured at the Maui Derm NP+PA Fall conference in Nashville, Tennessee. The talk, which also featured 2 other presenters, highlighted approaches to acne treatment such as topical retinoids and the triple-combination topical gel approved recently.

“There are several things that I would really want people to be thinking about,” Harper explained. “One is the triple, fixed-dose combination product that has been available to us since around March…The results are really exciting, so if people aren’t using it I would encourage them to try it.”

This product is the fixed-dose triple-combination clindamycin phosphate 1.2%/adapalene 0.15%/benzoyl peroxide 3.1% gel. Harper also noted that preventing scarring among patients is key, and she urged prescribers to think about treating to clear and working to prevent scarring.

“You can use some of our prescription drugs like the topical retinoids,” Harper said. “Trifarotene is the one I talked about in my presentation. Trifarotene has been shown not just to improve acne but to eliminate some atrophic acne scars and that’s exciting.”

Harper highlighted the popularity of discussing janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors. She noted the existence of JAK inhibitor-associated acne, also known as ‘JAKne.’

“If you’re going to talk about JAKne, let’s talk about really doing a good job with that,” Harper explained. “It’s not something that we just want to identify. We also want to manage it.”

Later, Harper was asked about the presence of unmet needs among patients associated with the acne treatment space.

“Until we cure acne, there is always an unmet need,” Harper said. “There is no drug and no other treatment that works as well as isotretinoin, so that is always going to be the gold standard. But if we can have the effect of isotretinoin without the teratogenicity, that would be lovely.”

To learn more about this subject, view the full interview segment posted above.

The quotes used in this interview summary were edited for clarity.