Monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To evaluate the treatment revolution atopic dermatitis, the most common inflammatory skin disease, has been going through in recent years, thanks to breakthroughs in disease understanding, delineating the immune fingerprint of atopic dermatitis.

RECENT FINDINGS: The treatment for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis patients has been largely unchanged for decades and relied on broad-acting immunosuppressants. A huge unmet need existed for effective, well tolerated and narrow-targeted therapeutics. Multiple therapies, targeting various aspects of the complex immune activation of atopic dermatitis, are now assessed in clinical trials, and hold promise for a new era in the treatment of atopic dermatitis, comparable with the treatment shift seen for psoriasis in the last decade. The first effective monoclonal antibody licensed for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, dupilumab, not only offers a much-needed systemic agent for moderate-to-severe patients but also provides strong evidence for the potential role of other monoclonal antibodies in disease management.

SUMMARY: In this rapidly changing field, new atopic dermatitis-targeted monoclonal antibodies will be reviewed in light of the recently discovered pathomechanisms of the disease.