WEDNESDAY, March 20, 2024 -- For adults with moderate-to-severe chronic hand eczema (CHE), treatment with delgocitinib cream 20 mg/g for 36 weeks yields ongoing improvements, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology, held from March 8 to 12 in San Diego.

Melinda Gooderham, M.D., from the SKiN Centre for Dermatology in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues examined the long-term safety and efficacy of delgocitinib cream for up to 36 weeks in adults with moderate-to-severe CHE who completed the 16-week treatment period in the DELTA-1 and DELTA-2 trials. A total of 801 participants were treated on an as-needed basis with twice-daily delgocitinib cream in DELTA-3.

The researchers observed no safety concerns during delgocitinib cream treatment in DELTA-1, DELTA-2, or DELTA-3. The most frequent treatment-emergent adverse events were COVID-19 and nasopharyngitis in DELTA-3. In DELTA-3, improvement from baseline to week 36 continued in Investigator's Global Assessment for CHE clear/almost clear, ≥75 percent/≥90 percent improvement in the Hand Eczema Severity Index, and ≥4-point itch/pain reduction among delgocitinib-treated patients.

"Overall, with delgocitinib cream 20 mg/g treatment, no safety concerns were identified and efficacy further improved, supporting the benefit of long-term as-needed use of delgocitinib cream in patients with CHE," the authors write.

The DELTA trials were sponsored by LEO Pharma, the manufacturer of delgocitinib.