Galderma has signed a joint research agreement on Atopic Dermatitis (AD) with two leading academic institutions—Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. This seven-year collaborative agreement aims to enhance the scientific understanding of the underlying mechanisms driving atopic dermatitis in order to pave the way for developing better healthcare solutions to improve the quality of life of patients with the disease, the company explains.

"While there are many exciting novel treatments moving into atopic dermatitis, these are based on increasing knowledge of pathogenic disease mechanisms in adults. However, we recently learned that atopic dermatitis disease initiation in children shows a different phenotype than that of adults with many years of chronic disease activity. In order to be able to better advance treatments into children, we must understand what are the factors that influence the progression of AD from children to adults. We are looking forward to studying molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying this progression,” said Emma Guttman-Yassky, MD, PhD, Professor and Vice-Chair, Department of Dermatology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

There are still many unknowns in the pathogenic pathways driving atopic dermatitis. It is not known why the disease persists in some pediatric patients but clears in others before they reach adulthood. It is of critical importance to understand age-specific alterations in skin immunity and the epidermal barrier that promote disease onset, persistence, or clearance of atopic dermatitis, especially in children where the disease often starts.  Researchers from these collaborating institutions will work to shed light on the development and the course of pediatric atopic dermatitis through this long term longitudinal study.

’We have recently learned much about the cause of atopic dermatitis, which is driving new therapies. But all of this understanding is based on studies of adults; our recent studies have suggested that the immune and skin barrier changes in early atopic dermatitis in infants and young children are different from those in adults. We are looking forward to further dissecting the skin immune system as children age in both normal infants and children and in atopic dermatitis,,” said Amy Paller, MS, MD, Walter J Hamlin Professor and Chair of Dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and a physician at the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

The research grant represents one of the largest financial contributions provided by a single biopharmaceutical company in recent years dedicated for pure academic research and discovery in dermatology. "This is clearly a strategic agreement for Galderma, and it confirms our longstanding commitment to the field of dermatology. With improved understanding on underlying mechanisms, we can better focus our efforts to develop more effective health care solutions for atopic dermatitis patients,” said Laurent Hennequin, PhD, Galderma Research Director.

Atopic dermatitis is one of Galderma’s key therapeutic areas of research and innovation. In 2016, Galderma entered into a global license agreement with Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. for nemolizumab, an anti-IL-31 receptor A monoclonal antibody, which is currently under development for atopic dermatitis. Nemolizumab demonstrated its efficacy and safety in the treatment of atopic dermatitis in the first Phase 2 study published in March 2017 in the New England Journal of Medicine, showing a rapid and significant improvement of pruritus in patients with moderate to severe AD, as well as improvements in skin inflammation and several other symptoms.