A new non-steroidal anti-inflammatory ointment may provide relief to patients managing mild to moderate eczema, researchers say in a study presented at the AAAAI annual meeting. [Editor’s Note: the medicated cream was approved in the U.S. in December, 2016.]
The topical drug works by suppressing an enzyme that’s present in higher than average numbers in people who have atopic dermatitis. In two multicenter, double-blind stage 3 trials, researchers examined both the safety and effectiveness of crisaborole 2% ointment.
About 50 percent of patients given the novel drug reported that their eczema had cleared after 29 days of treatment, compared to just 30 to 40 percent for a control group in the study given a non-crisaborole treatment. Side effects from the topical non-steroidal ointment were “infrequent, transient and mild/moderate in severity,” researchers also noted.
Current treatments for eczema include topical steroids and calcineurin inhibitors. Study author Dr. Mark Boguniewicz noted that these are beneficial but have limitations.
“If [crisaborole] is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, it would represent a new treatment option for health-care providers to offer their patients who have mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis,” said Boguniewicz, who also noted that itching symptoms went away more quickly for patients using the new drug.
“Getting relief from itching is so important for our patients – and a greater proportion of crisaborole-treated patients saw improvement for all clinical signs of atopic dermatitis by day 29.”
Related Reading: Non-Steroidal Eczema Ointment Launches in U.S.
