Several companies including argenx, Sanofi/Regeneron, and AstraZeneca are seeking to improve Bullous Pemphigoid standard of care by pursuing label expansions for their existing antibody-based therapies.

NEWTON, Mass., March 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a rare, autoimmune, blistering disease for which there are no approved therapies. BP is associated with significant morbidities such as:

  • Subepidermal blistering
  • Severe pruritis
  • Infection
  • Diminished quality of life

In the absence of approved treatments, physicians utilize oral corticosteroids as first-line treatment to quickly eliminate pruritus and stop further blistering in the acute phase of BP. However, chronic use of corticosteroids can lead to life-threatening side effects; therefore, physicians assert that improving the time between relapses without long-term reliance on corticosteroids is a significant unmet need in the treatment of BP. Furthermore, nearly three-quarters of surveyed dermatologists rated therapies that can minimize corticosteroid exposure in the acute setting as an “important” unmet need in the treatment landscape, according to REACH Market Research‘s MarketVue® assessment.

Dermatologist, U.S.: I’m most optimistic for the biologics. I think there’s enough in the pipeline that something will hopefully get an on-label indication, and that’ll improve accessibility for patients to these treatments. Being able to give somebody something that’s not increasing their risk of infection and death, but rather helping their symptoms without increasing those risks would be nice and seems attainable.

To access REACH’s MarketVue® Report on BP, visit https://reachmr.com or contact us at info@reachmr.com.

The BP pipeline contains a number of biologics, including:

  • argenx’s FcRn inhibitor – efgartigimod
  • Regeneron/Sanofi’s IL-4/IL-13 inhibitor – dupilumab
  • AstraZeneca’s IL-5 inhibitor – benralizumab

Dermatologists report that preliminary results from clinical trials of biologics such as FcRn and IL-4 inhibitors look promising, although some express doubts that they would be efficacious enough to eliminate the need for corticosteroids.

Tyler Jakab, Analyst at REACH: Physicians seem to agree that emerging therapies like FcRn inhibitors hold promise in reducing the circulating autoantibodies that drive autoimmune diseases like bullous pemphigoid. However, BP is also characterized by complement and eosinophil activity, so we’ll have to await clinical trial results to see if these therapies measure up to steroids in terms of efficacy and speed in controlling the inflammation found in the acute phase of the disease.

About MarketVue®

MarketVue® reports are a rare disease focused, fresh alternative to traditionally long and outdated market research reports. MarketVue® reports cover rare disease epidemiology and key market dynamics based on research from key opinion leader interviews, physician surveys, and secondary data.