Integrated Safety Analysis of Abrocitinib for the Treatment of Moderate-to-Severe Atopic Dermatitis From the Phase II and Phase III Clinical Trial Program

Background Pivotal phase III studies demonstrated that abrocitinib, an oral, once-daily, JAK1-selective inhibitor, is effective treatment for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) as monotherapy and in combination with topical therapy. Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term safety of abrocitinib 200 mg and 100 mg in an integrated analysis of a phase IIb study, four phase III studies, and one long-term extension study. Methods Two cohorts were analyzed: a placebo-controlled cohort from 12- to 16-week studies and an all-abrocitinib cohort including patients who received one or more abrocitinib doses. Adverse events (AEs) of interest and laboratory data are reported. Results Total exposure in the all-abrocitinib cohort (n = 2856) was 1614 patient-years (PY); exposure was >= 24 weeks in 1248 patients and >= 48 weeks in 606 (maximum 108 weeks). In the placebo-controlled cohort (n = 1540), dose-related AEs (200 mg, 100 mg, placebo) were nausea (14.6%, 6.1%, 2.0%), headache (7.8%, 5.9%, 3.5%), and acne (4.7%, 1.6%, 0%). Platelet count was reduced transiently in a dose-dependent manner; 2/2718 patients (200-mg group) had confirmed platelet counts of < 50 x 10(3)/mm(3) at week 4. Incidence rates (IRs) were 2.33/100PY and 2.65/100 PY for serious infection, 4.34/100PY and 2.04/100PY for herpes zoster, and 11.83/100PY and 8.73/100PY for herpes simplex in the 200-mg and 100-mg groups, respectively. IRs for nonmelanoma skin cancer, other malignancies, and major adverse cardiovascular events were < 0.5/100PY for both doses. Five venous thromboembolism events occurred (IR 0.30/100PY), all in the 200-mg group. There were three deaths due to gastric carcinoma (diagnosed at day 43), sudden death, and COVID-19. Conclusion Abrocitinib, with proper patient and dose selection, has a manageable tolerability and longer-term safety profile appropriate for long-term use in patients with moderate-to-severe AD. Trial Registries ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02780167, NCT03349060, NCT03575871, NCT03720470, NCT03627767, NCT03422822.

Automated summary

Abrocitinib has been shown to be an effective treatment for atopic dermatitis with a manageable tolerability and safety profile for long-term use, especially when proper patient and dose selection are utilized. The study results suggest that abrocitinib can be used as a long-term therapy for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.