Efficacy and safety of ruxolitinib cream for the treatment of atopic dermatitis: Results from 2 phase 3, randomized, double-blind studies

Background: Ruxolitinib (RUX) cream demonstrated potent anti-inflammatory and antipruritic efficacy in a phase 2 study in adults with atopic dermatitis (AD). Objective: To evaluate 8-week efficacy and safety in 2 phase 3 studies of RUX cream in patients with AD. Methods: Topical Ruxolitinib Evaluation in Atopic Dermatitis Study 1 (NCT03745638) and Study 2 (NCT03745651) enrolled patients aged >= 12 years with AD for >= 2 years, an Investigator's Global Assessment score of 2/3, and 3%-20% affected body surface area. Patients were randomized 2:2:1 to twice-daily 0.75% RUX cream, 1.5% RUX cream, or vehicle cream for 8 continuous weeks. The primary endpoint was Investigator's Global Assessment treatment success at week 8 (Investigator's Global Assessment score of 0/1 and >= 2-grade improvement from baseline). Results: In the Topical Ruxolitinib Evaluation in Atopic Dermatitis Study 1 and 2, 631 and 618 patients were randomized (631/577 analyzed for efficacy). Significantly more patients achieved Investigator's Global Assessment treatment success with 0.75% RUX cream (50.0%/39.0%) and 1.5% RUX cream (53.8%/51.3%) versus vehicle (15.1%/7.6%; P < .0001) at week 8. Significant itch reductions versus vehicle were reported within 12 hours of first application of 1.5% RUX (P < .05). Application site reactions were infrequent (<1%) and lower with RUX versus vehicle; none were clinically significant. Limitations: Longer-term safety data are not yet available. Conclusions: RUX cream showed anti-inflammatory and prompt antipruritic effects with superior efficacy versus vehicle and was well tolerated.