Abstract
What is this summary about?
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic (long-lasting) skin disease that leads to dry, itchy, and swollen red spots, which can also be painful and flare up at any time. Some people with AD have a high number of eosinophils, a type of white blood cell, which are associated with worse disease. Medicated creams and lotions, prescribed by health care providers, are meant to reduce the symptoms of AD. For some people, these creams and lotions do not work. Benralizumab injection is a medication that reduces and removes eosinophils. A clinical trial called HILLER tested benralizumab to see if there was a difference in symptoms of AD after reducing or removing eosinophils. This article explains how benralizumab reduced eosinophils and the effect it had on AD symptoms in the HILLIER study.
What were the main conclusions reported by the researchers?
Benralizumab reduced blood eosinophil numbers. However, benralizumab showed no evidence of treatment benefit on signs, symptoms, or severity of AD, as measured by three skin assessments compared with placebo. Benralizumab was well tolerated and had a safety profile that was consistent with previous studies. The five most commonly reported side effects were COVID-19 infection, upper respiratory tract infection, headache, swelling of the lymph nodes, and pink eye (conjunctivitis) in patients who received either benralizumab or placebo
What are the key takeaways?
Benralizumab lowered the number of blood eosinophils without improving AD symptoms and was well tolerated.
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Financial & competing interests disclosure
This study and medical writing were funded by AstraZeneca (Cambridge, UK). Emma Guttman-Yassky is an employee of Mount Sinai and has received research funds (grants paid to the institution) from AbbVie, Almirall, Amgen, AnaptysBio, Asana Biosciences, AstraZeneca, Boerhinger-Ingelhiem, Cara Therapeutics, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Galderma, Glenmark/Ichnos Sciences, Innovaderm, Janssen, KAO, Kiniksa, Kyowa Kirin, Leo Pharma, Novan, Novartis, Pfizer, Ralexar, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, and UCB and is a consultant for AbbVie, Almirall, Amgen, Arena, Asana Biosciences, Aslan Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, Boerhinger Ingelhiem, Bristol Meyers Squibb, Cara Therapeutics, Celgene, Connect Pharma, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Evidera, Galderma, Ichnos Sciences, Incyte, Janssen Biotech, Kyowa Kirin, Leo Pharma, Pandion Therapeutics, Pfizer, RAPT Therapeutics, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi, SATO Pharmaceutical, Siolta Therapeutics, Target Pharma Solutions, UCB, and Ventyx Biosciences. Lila Bahadori, Laura Brooks, Ken Clark, Hanna Grindebacke, Calvin N. Ho, Rohit Katial, Tuyet-Hang Pham, Claire Walton, and Catherine J. Datto are or were employees of AstraZeneca at the time of the study and may own stock or stock options. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
Competing interests disclosure
Emma Guttman-Yassky is an employee of Mount Sinai and is a consultant for AbbVie, Almirall, Amgen, Arena, Asana Biosciences, Aslan Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, Boerhinger Ingelhiem, Bristol Meyers Squibb, Cara Therapeutics, Celgene, Connect Pharma, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Evidera, Galderma, Ichnos Sciences, Incyte, Janssen Biotech, Kyowa Kirin, Leo Pharma, Pandion Therapeutics, Pfizer, RAPT Therapeutics, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi, SATO Pharmaceutical, Siolta Therapeutics, Target Pharma Solutions, UCB, and Ventyx Biosciences. Lila Bahadori, Laura Brooks, Ken Clark, Hanna Grindebacke, Calvin N. Ho, Rohit Katial, Tuyet-Hang Pham, Claire Walton, and Catherine J. Datto are or were employees of AstraZeneca at the time of the study. The authors have no other competing interests or relevant affiliations with any organization or entity with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
Writing disclosure
Medical writing support was provided by Lea Anne Gardner, PhD, and Sara N. Fischer, PhD, CMPP (Citrus Health Group), and was funded by AstraZeneca (Cambridge, UK) in accordance with Good Publication Practice (GPP 2022) guidelines.
Acknowledgments
We thank the patients and their caregivers, as well as the study investigators and site staff, for participating in this study. We thank Olivia Fulton for providing feedback on the readability of this publication.