Kim Kjoller, MD: Tralokinumab for Atopic Dermatitis

Earlier this month, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted LEO Pharma’s Biologics License Application for tralokinumab for the treatment of adults with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. The acceptance was the beginning of the agency’s formal review procedure of the biologic.

Atopic dermatitis is a very heterogenous disease and experts do not expect 1 solution to work on every patient, Kim Kjøller, MD, executive vice president of global research & development at LEO Pharma, said in a recent interview with HCPLive®. The dermatology field needs more treatment options to come out, and tralokinumab is a unique choice.

“It’s unique in the sense that, provided it achieves regulatory approval, it will be the first selective IL-13 biologic that people will have to treat atopic dermatitis,” Kjøller said.

That’s interesting because when looking at the science behind it, IL-13 seems to be the most prominent of the cytokines driving atopic dermatitis, he said. The treatment could be extremely beneficial for those suffering from the condition.

As more data come out on biologic treatment, experts have seen it takes a little while to see skin clearance, but early on, patients reported significant improvement in itch and quality of life. Such information shows the treatment is starting to work.