Feb 14, 2022

Novel uses for JAK inhibitors part of comprehensive What’s New session

Pathogenesis-directed drug therapy is only beginning to find a role in dermatology.

Seemal R. Desai, MD, FAAD.
Seemal R. Desai, MD, FAAD.

S062 – What’s New in Dermatology

Tuesday, March 29 | 8 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Ballroom West

Hope is on the horizon for patients seeking relief from the symptoms related to vitiligo, atopic dermatitis, alopecia, and psoriasis, and that hope may just come in the form of a pathogenesis-directed drug therapy long used to treat rheumatoid arthritis — Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors.

The 2022 AAD Annual Meeting will shed light on that discovery and more during the session, S062 – What’s New in Dermatology. JAK inhibitors are only beginning to find a role in dermatology and will provide new treatment opportunities for dermatologists and patients alike, according to session panelist, Seemal R. Desai, MD, FAAD, founder and medical director of Innovative Dermatology PA in Plano, Texas.

“The JAK inhibitor baricitinib will be the first FDA-approved therapy for alopecia areata ever,” Dr. Desai said of the disease that takes an emotional toll on patients. “We don’t have an exact date yet, but the data look good.”

In the fall of 2021, the FDA approved the use of JAK inhibitors in topical form for atopic dermatitis, he said. Soon, the FDA is expected to approve the use of JAK inhibitors to treat vitiligo and issue its approval for the JAK inhibitor deucravactinib to treat psoriasis, Dr. Desai said.

In addition to the closer look at the use of JAK inhibitors in dermatology, the Tuesday, March 29 session is wide-ranging and will explore an array of updates by noted speakers:

  • What's New in Psoriasis?: Bruce Elliot Strober, MD, PhD, FAAD
  • What's New in Surgical Dermatology?: Brett M. Coldiron, MD, FAAD
  • What's New in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cutaneous Malignancy?: Darrell S. Rigel, MD, FAAD
  • What's New in Cosmetic Dermatology?: Mark S. Nestor, MD, PhD, FAAD
  • What's New in Pediatric Dermatology?: Lawrence F Eichenfield, MD, FAAD
  • What's New in Mild to Moderate Psoriasis?: Linda F. Stein Gold, MD, FAAD
  • What's New in Systemic Dermatologic Therapy?: Seemal R. Desai, MD, FAAD

There will also be a Q&A with session director, Mark Lebwohl, MD, FAAD. 

Visit AAD DermWorld Meeting News Central for more articles.