Recent Developments

Neutrogena Introduces New “Heroes of Skin Health Equity” Initiative

Neutrogena is launching its new Heroes of Skin Health Equity initiative, the brand’s latest effort aimed at closing the gap to skin health equity for those with Black and brown skin.

The brand will publicly recognize the work of individuals who are striving to make the world of skincare more equitable, partnering with each to help further their efforts and effectively close the “skin health equity gap” faced by many in the BIPOC community.

“More than 68 million BIPOC Americans face disparities in skin health education, access to expertise and product for all skin types and tones, which we at Neutrogena find simply unacceptable,” shares Roberto Khoury, General Manager, Neutrogena. “As a brand that is committed to advancing skin health for all, Neutrogena is focused on making a difference. But it goes far beyond just our company; we believe the only way to make skin health equity real is if we all come together to do so. That’s why we are so proud to recognize our inaugural Heroes of Skin Health Equity, celebrating those who are already doing such important work and making big strides in closing this gap.”

Neutrogena broadcast a ceremony celebrating all Heroes of Skin Health Equity via the @Neutrogena_us TikTok channel on January 31. The event was co-hosted by Neutrogena brand ambassadors, Kerry Washington and Jennifer Garner.

“Skin health equity is something that means a great deal to me, personally,” says Washington, a longtime Neutrogena partner. “I am so proud to work with Neutrogena to turn the spotlight on these inspiring individuals and celebrate the very important work they are doing to close the skin health gap faced by so many of us with Black and brown skin.”

The inaugural Neutrogena Heroes of Skin Health Equity embody the four core pillars of the brand’s “For People With Skin” promise: Advocacy, Education, Expertise, and Transparency.

Garnering recognition in the Advocacy category is Malone Mukwende, founder and creator of Hutano, the social platform created to empower, educate and provide a voice to Black and brown communities to help improve their health outcomes. Neutrogena has signed on as the first official sponsor of Hutano, making its expertise on matters related to skin health for those with Black and brown skin directly accessible to those in the BIPOC community who are in search of such information and guidance specific to their skin type and tone.

Together with Mukwende and Hutano, the brand will launch the SkinU by Neutrogena community page within the Hutano platform, promoting discussion and education on the skin health issues most commonly faced by those with Black and brown skin, including hyperpigmentation, acne and skin cancer/sun protection. Content will focus on how these issues present on Black and brown skin and how they can best be addressed. As well, in an effort to grow the Hutano community, Neutrogena and its network of influencer partners and brand ambassadors are teaming up to bring greater awareness to the Hutano platform.

Championed as Heroes of Skin Health Equity for Education are Sarah Jean Williams and Kyra Peters, up-and-coming filmmakers using their platforms and talent to create skin health-related educational content for those in the BIPOC community. In an effort to make Williams’ and Peters’ cutting-edge video content more accessible to more people with Black and brown skin, both of their films—created in partnership with Neutrogena Studios—will be premiered to the world, distributed to more than 500 schools with a companion discussion guide, and featured in additional media partnerships.

Recognized for Expertise is Dr. Adeline Kikam, a board-certified dermatologist and founder of @BrownSkinDerm, through which she lends her expertise to helping those with Black and brown skin better understand and care for their skin. Neutrogena will enroll Dr. Kikam as a long-term brand partner, announcing plans to launch a dedicated content series featuring Dr. Kikam as an expert voice on all matters pertaining to Black and brown skin. Neutrogena will also engage Dr. Kikam to help shape future product innovation and marketing efforts through ongoing consulting work in partnership with the brand, through the lens of optimizing product and communications for the BIPOC community.

Named the first-ever Hero of Skin Health Equity for Transparency is Sabrina Noorani, Founder & CEO of ClearForMe, a digital resource that makes the world of skincare more understandable and accessible via greater ingredient transparency—a particularly critical service in helping those Black and brown skin better find the right products for their specific skin needs. Neutrogena will work with Noorani and team to roll out the ClearForMe technology on brand platforms, bringing greater ingredient transparency to consumers.

Light Therapy Fast-tracks Healing of Skin Damage from Brachytherapy

Light therapy may accelerate the healing of skin damage from radiation therapy by up to 50 percent, according to a recent University at Buffalo-led study.

Photobiomodulation—a form of low-dose light therapy—lowered the severity of skin damage from radionecrosis, reduced inflammation, improved blood flow, and helped wounds heal up to 19 days faster.

The findings, published in Photonics, follow prior reports on the effectiveness of light therapy in improving the healing of burn wounds and in relieving pain from oral mucositis caused by radiation and chemotherapy.

The research was led by Rodrigo Mosca, PhD, visiting fellow from the Nuclear and Energy Research Institute (IPEN) and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, both in Brazil. Carlos Zeituni, PhD, professor at IPEN and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, is a senior author.

“To our knowledge, this is the first report on the successful use of photobiomodulation therapy for brachytherapy,” says senior author Praveen Arany, DDS, PhD, assistant professor of oral biology in the UB School of Dental Medicine, in a news release. “The results from this study support the progression to controlled human clinical studies to utilize this innovative therapy in managing the side effects from radiation cancer treatments.”

Although brachytherapy has improved the precision and safety of cancer care, skin damage is still an unfortunate side effect. Similar to burn wounds, radionecrosis may cause inflammation and scarring and hinder blood flow. Current treatments to manage radionecrosis include routine wound care, pain medication and, in some cases, surgery.

Previous research conducted by Dr. Arany’s lab found that photobiomodulation promotes healing by activating TGF‐beta 1, a protein that controls cell growth and division by stimulating various cells involved in healing, including fibroblasts and macrophages.

The new study, completed in an animal model, examined the effectiveness of near-infrared and red LED light at improving the healing of skin damage during radiation.

Without photobiomodulation, wounds took an average of 61 days to heal. Using near-infrared light therapy, healing occurred within an average of 49 days. Healing occurred the fastest when using red light therapy, at an average of 42 days.

“For over 40 years, photobiomodulation has been known to accelerate the healing of acute and chronic wounds, triggering cellular processes that control inflammation, pain signaling, and tissue regeneration and repair,” says Dr. Mosca.

Research suggests that the effects of photobiomodulation does not extend to tumor cells, likely due to their perturbed metabolic and regulatory signaling, adds Dr. Arany.

Researchers Define Keys to Recognizing Ocular Rosacea

A number of eye symptoms may be more common in patients with rosacea compared to those without the skin disease, but the presence of conjunctival telangiectases may be the eye symptom most closely associated with rosacea.

Findings come from a study in which researchers evaluated the right eyes of 76 rosacea patients and 113 people with no systemic or eye disorders. The examinations included slit-lamp microscope, optical coherence tomography (OCT)-assisted meibography to analyze meibomian gland function, a standardized questionnaire about eye disease, and other assessments.

Results, published in International Ophthalmology, show that foreign body sensation and itching were about twice as prevalent in rosacea patients than in the healthy control subjects (53.9 vs. 24.8 percent and 35.5 vs. 17.7 percent, respectively), dryness was more than four times as common (46.1 vs 10.6 percent), and meibomian gland dysfunction was about two-thirds more common (52.6 vs. 31 percent). However, conjunctival telangiectasia was found to occur overwhelmingly in the rosacea patients alone (26.3 vs 1.8 percent).

The researchers recommend that eye doctors use detailed slit-lamp examinations to detect conjunctival telangiectasia, especially in cases of persistent dry eye symptoms. They also noted that OCT-assisted meibography may be important for identifying and evaluating meibomian gland dysfunction.

A recent study from Argentina illustrates the importance of treating ocular rosacea promptly. The eyes of 51 rosacea patients were examined by researchers, and 38 (74.5 percent) had signs of eye involvement. Of these, all had erythema and telangiectasia on the eyelid margin, and all but one had meibomian gland dysfunction. Fifteen patients suffered decreased visual acuity due to rosacea-related complications, including scarring and blood vessels on the cornea.

Investigators reported, “a significant association between the severity of ocular findings, assessed as a diminished visual acuity due to rosacea corneal involvement,” and the presence of rosacea symptoms of the skin, including excess tissue (rhinophyma) and bumps and pimples (papules and pustules).

The most common therapies given to the ocular rosacea patients in the study, published in Turk J Ophthalmol, were artificial tears, oral doxycycline, corticosteroid-antibiotic ointment, and a lid hygiene regimen. However, three patients required corneal transplants to restore their vision. The researchers recommended that special attention be paid to worsening eye symptoms during flare-ups of rosacea on the skin, and that patients should be referred to an ophthalmologist for treatment when vision is threatened.

“Although rosacea is generally thought of as a skin disease, research has shown that for the great majority of rosacea patients the eyes may also be affected,” says Dr. Mark Mannis, chair of ophthalmology at the University of California-Davis and a member of the National Rosacea Society’s medical advisory board. “In moderate to severe cases, treatment by an ophthalmologist may be especially necessary to prevent loss of visual acuity.”

Study: Retinol Plus CBD Maintains Anti-Aging Properties Minus Side Effects

Combining a retinol and cannabidiol (CBD) in topical skincare maintains retinol’s anti-aging properties with reduced side effects, a new study in Aesthetic Surgery Journal shows.

“CBD is anti-inflammatory and pro-healing in nature. I believe that the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties provided by CBD are an essential component of protecting the skin and contribute to the graceful aging of any skin type,” says Julius Few, MD, a plastic surgeon in Chicago.

The CR Emulsion combines solubilized CBD and retinol, along with other botanicals. Retinol improves cellular turnover and decreases the depth of fine lines and wrinkles while solubilized, medical-grade CBD counteracts irritating effects, like redness or peeling.

“Importantly, the CBD used in this study is water soluble,” shares Dr. Few. “Most often, CBD is dissolved in coconut oil or medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil, which can clog pores or make skin look oily or dull.”

In this study, 10 patients applied the CR Emulsion nightly for six weeks. While patients reported improvement in every area, the greatest improvements were for visible pores, dehydration, surface roughness, static wrinkles, and dynamic wrinkles. All of the subjects were satisfied with the effect that CR Emulsion had on their skin and 90 percent would recommend the product to others. Importantly, the tolerability of CR Emulsion was excellent.

The CR Emulsion study is part of a larger body of work done by Dr. Few on a concept called Four-Dimensional Beauty. In addition to evaluation of aesthetic results using the industry standard of static before and after images, Dr. Few also employs videos of patients making a range of expressions to evaluate the functional impact of treatment on apparent patient confidence and openness of expression. This 4D assessment takes into account the transitions between facial expressions and the interplay of dynamic lines, texture, and evenness in tone on expressiveness.

L’Oréal and Verily Partner to Advance Precision Skin Health

L’Oréal and Verily, an Alphabet precision health company are joining forces to advance skin health. The partnership is expected to entail two programs to better understand and characterize skin and hair aging mechanisms and to inform L’Oréal’s precision beauty tech strategy and product development.

The first is a strategic research collaboration to establish a longitudinal biological, clinical, environmental view of skin health. It combines L’Oréal’s knowledge of skin and Verily’s comprehensive clinical science capabilities, to decode and discover the links between exposome, skin aging, and deep biology of the skin.

The second is a partnership with Verily’s R&D Team and L’Oréal’s Active Cosmetics Division to explore the development of new technologies and tele-diagnosis solutions such as sensors, and AI algorithms for dermatology and skincare, that can form the basis for new services.

NEA and PEDRA Receive Collaborative Engagement Award from PCORI

The National Eczema Association (NEA) and the Pediatric Dermatology Research Alliance (PeDRA) have been approved for a $250,000 funding award through the Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Awards program, an initiative of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

The award will support a project titled “Making it Count: Using Gamification to Enhance Childhood Eczema PCOR and CER.” Working as equal partners, NEA and PeDRA will launch a series of virtual and in-person activities to drive education and engagement of patients, families, and researchers around the management of childhood eczema and the conduct of meaningful patient-centered outcomes research and comparative effectiveness research.

Phase 3 Data Show Benefit of Dupixent to Reduce Itch in Prurigo Nodularis

Dupixent (dupilumab) from Sanofi and Regeneron significantly reduced itch and skin lesions compared to placebo at 24 weeks in a Phase 3 trial in adults with uncontrolled prurigo nodularis. The new data confirm positive results previously reported from the phase 3 PRIME2 trial and will be submitted to regulatory authorities around the world starting in the first half of this year. The impact of prurigo nodularis on quality of life is one of the highest among inflammatory skin diseases, due to extreme itch.

In the Phase 3 PRIME trial, topline results at week 24 showed that, compared to placebo, more than three times as many Dupixent patients experienced a clinically meaningful reduction in itch from baseline, the primary endpoint (60 percent of Dupixent patients compared to 18 percent of placebo patients).

Nearly three times as many Dupixent patients achieved clear or almost clear skin, a secondary endpoint.

Dupixent patients experienced significantly greater improvements in measures of overall health-related quality of life, skin pain, and symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Safety results in the trial were consistent with what was observed in PRIME2 and were also generally consistent with the known safety profile of Dupixent in its approved indications. For the 24-week treatment period, overall rates of treatment-emergent adverse events were 71 percent for Dupixent and 63 percent for placebo. Adverse events most commonly observed with Dupixent included nasopharyngitis and headache. Additionally, no Dupixent patients and four percent of placebo patients discontinued treatment due to adverse events prior to week 24.

Consistent with published literature for the atopic dermatitis trials, numerically lower rates of skin infections were seen with Dupixent in this trial.

Detailed results from this trial will be presented at an upcoming medical congress. The potential use of Dupixent in prurigo nodularis is currently under clinical development, and the safety and efficacy have not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority.

CLOSE UP with Sherrif Ibrahim, MD, PhD

It’s not always easy to predict which squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) tumors will metastasize using clinicopathologic risk factors alone. Enter Castle Biosciences, Inc’s DecisionDx-SCC, a 40-gene expression profile test that uses an individual patient’s tumor biology to predict risk of metastasis in SCC patients with one or more risk factors. New research suggests this test can provide powerful prognostic information regarding an SCC patient’s risk of metastasis. Here, study author Sherrif Ibrahim, MD, PhD, a dermatologist and Mohs surgeon at Rochester Dermatologic Surgery in Victor, NY, and an associate professor in the department of dermatology at University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, NY, discusses the results of the study and how this type of testing may change clinical care. The findings are published in Future Oncology.

Why is this topic important to study?

Sherrif Ibrahim, MD, PhD: SCC is the second most common skin cancer after basal cell carcinoma. Although the overall mortality rate of SCC is low, the incidence is quite high, with the number of fatal cancers per year exceeding that of melanoma. Currently, clinicopathologic risk factors are used to predict risk for metastasis and form the basis of staging systems in use. Although great strides have been made along these lines, 75 percent of cancers categorized as being “high risk” never go on to metastasis, and about 33 percent of cancers that do metastasize occur in tumors that are thought to be ‘low risk’. Improvements to risk assessment on an individual level may better identify those cancers at risk for poor outcomes. This study utilizes a gene expression profile (GEP) test for high-risk SCCs to determine biological risk for individual tumors and classifies them as being low, intermediate, or high risk for metastasis. The goal of this study is to better validate the GEP test in a high-risk population of SCC patients.

Describe the research and your findings.

Dr. Ibrahim: In this study, a population of high-risk SCC patients with known clinical outcomes were tested. The GEP test was applied to this group of patients, and they were categorized as being class 1 (low risk), class 2A (intermediate risk), or class 2b (high risk). Those patients with low risk for metastases had less than half of the likelihood of the overall cohort, and those who were high risk had a greater than 50 percent chance of regional or distant disease. This demonstrated that the GEP is a robust and helpful adjunct to clinicopathologic risk factors and can identify indexical biologic tumor behavior.

What is the next step?

Dr. Ibrahim: As the GEP test is further validated, it can serve as a springboard for the development of treatment guidelines for SCC and for the design of downstream adjuvant treatment trials. Those tumors at highest risk for metastatic spread may benefit from increased intensity of surveillance and additional treatments such as radiation or immunotherapy, while those at low biologic risk may be adequately served by clinical follow-up alone.