New drug calms irritating skin rashes in infants

A new topical drug has shown remarkable effectiveness and safety in treating moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, or skin rash, in infants as young as three months, potentially ending a decades-long treatment void for the youngest sufferers.

The Phase III trial of Benvitimod cream, the world's first such study focused on infants aged 3 to 24 months with AD, found that 81.6 percent of participants achieved at least a 90 percent improvement in skin lesions after eight weeks of treatment, said Liang Yuan, chief physician at Beijing Children's Hospital, China Business Network reported on Monday.

The term "atopic" usually means a genetic predisposition toward certain conditions — in this case a chronic inflammation featuring itchy, dry, sensitive skin or discolored, scaling or oozing patches.

In China, 30.48 percent of infants less than 1 year old suffer from AD, and more than 60 percent of all patients developed the condition before their first birthday.

"The three-month mark is a golden window for intervention," Liang said. "A safe and effective treatment will not only cure the disease but also potentially block the subsequent allergic march."

For decades, doctors had few safe and effective options for this age group. Li Ming, a professor at Children's Hospital of Fudan University, said steroids, while effective, are often shunned by parents fearing side effects such as skin thinning. Non-steroid alternatives are slow-acting and can cause burning or stinging sensations that infants cannot tolerate.

The trial of the cream, which included a 44-week observation period, demonstrated that the drug is minimally absorbed into the bloodstream, with almost undetectable blood concentrations after eight weeks. Localized adverse reactions were mild to moderate and occurred in only 7.3 percent of infants, significantly lower than the 22 percent rate observed in older children.

"The early control of inflammation with Benvitimod offers a chance to reduce future risks of allergic rhinitis and asthma," Li said.