The investigational drug oral abrocitinib, plus topical therapy, was safe and more effective than placebo with topical therapy in adolescents with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) according to clinical trial results.

The JADE TEEN phase 3 study of the Janus kinase (JAK)-1 selective inhibitor was conducted in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and North America and included Australian patients.

Dr Gary Chan, from Pfizer, and colleagues randomly assigned 285 adolescents with moderate-to-severe AD to treatment with once-daily oral abrocitinib (200 mg or 100 mg) or placebo, in combination with topical therapy, for 12 weeks.

The median age was 15, about half of participants were boys, 56% were white and 33% of Asian ethnicity, the authors reported in JAMA Dermatology.