Dermatologist Mona Shahriari, MD, Talks Nonsteroidal Topicals for Atopic Dermatitis

There are 3 classes of nonsteroidal topical therapies for atopic dermatitis that target the specific underlying pathophysiology of the skin disease. Shahriari provides a primer.

"To address the limitations of topical corticosteroids, we have a next generation of topical noncorticosteroid drugs with varying mechanisms of action that all target the specific underlying pathophysiology of atopic dermatitis."

Mona Shahriari, MD, a dermatologist and assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine, sat down with Patient Care recently and provided a detailed overview of the 3 classes of topical treatments for atopic dermatitis that do not have the broad immunosuppressive properties of the corticosteroids and have proven highly effective. In the video segment above, Shahriari toplines the most important features, including dosing and potential adverse events, of each medication:

Ruxolitinib, a topical selective Janus kinase (JAK)1/JAK2 inhibitor, was approved by the FDA in September 2021 and is marketed as Opzelura (Incyte)

Roflumilast, approved by the FDA in July 2024, is a phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) inhibitor and marketed as Zoryve (Arcutis Biotherapeutics)

Tapinarof 1% is an investigational aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonist currently under review by the FDA; the agency has set at PDUFA date in the 4th quarter of 2024.

Mona Shahriari, MD, is assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut and co-founder of Central Connecticut Dermatology in Cromwell, Connecticut.