Following the news that the ongoing 25th World Congress of Dermatology (WCD) in Singapore will cover a range of skin-related topics;

Ramla Salad, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:

“Targeting and treating patients with skin of color is a topic that is being highlighted, both by researchers and industry players, at the conference as is evidenced by the various presentation titles selected for the symposia. One such example is a presentation being held by Galderma titled, Diversity and Inclusion in Dermatology: a Worldwide Profiling of Sensitive Skin (LS10). Through the presentation, the company, which is a current player in the atopic dermatitis (AD) space with their anti-interleukin 31, nemolizumab will likely raise the need for a broader representation of patient demographics, focusing on accurate diagnosis and treatment of individuals with diverse skin types.

“Over the years, the therapeutic options for AD patients have expanded from steroids and emollients to more targeted treatments such as Sanofi and Regeneron’s biologic Dupixent (dupilumab) and Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors including AbbVie’s Rinvoq (upadacitinib) and Pfizer’s Cibinqo (abrocitinib). The latter therapies are used more for the treatment of moderate to severe AD as they are effective in improving symptoms and quality of life (QoL), but African American (AA) patients may require earlier, more aggressive treatment due to their tendency for greater disease severity.

“The spotlight on skin of color will not dim and the theme will continue through many conferences including the WCD 2023. As with the explosion of newly approved therapeutics and increasing clinical activity in AD, it is imperative to understand the clinical, genetic, and molecular aspects of AD across various ethnic groups.”