SINGAPORE – It is the itch that will not stop, affecting one in five children and one in 10 adults in Singapore.
“At the moment, genetic studies revealed genetic factors that could only explain 20 per cent to 30 per cent of the risk of atopic dermatitis,” said Dr Yew Yik Weng, the consultant in charge of NSC’s Eczema Clinic. Currently, Dupilumab is the world’s first biologic drug approved for moderate to severe atopic eczema, and the only targeted therapy approved in Singapore.
“If we can predict at the first injection whether the patient will respond or not, then we can better tailor treatments for patients, so that they don’t keep going for this expensive treatment ,” said Professor Steven Thng, the corresponding principal investigator of Adept. He is also chief dermatologist at the Skin Research Institute of Singapore and the medical director of the Translational Research Office at the National Healthcare Group.
There are other biologic and oral medication therapies in the pipeline. Some of the new biologics are undergoing phase three global clinical trials on safety and effectivenessDr Yew said a second, and even a third, biologic drug may be available in Singapore in 2025, but will likely be costly. This will possibly make NSC the first in the world to use imaging technologies to study eczema so that therapy can be tailored for every individual, he said.
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