Dupilumab (Dupixent, Sanofi & Regeneron) may boost height in kids with severe atopic dermatitis (AD), according to a late-breaking abstract presented at Maui Derm Hawaii 2025.
The research, presented by Sonya L. Cyr, PhD, Senior Director of Medical Affairs at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, received the best poster Akamai Award at the meeting.
Adolescents with moderate and severe AD have significantly higher odds of height <25th percentile of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) growth reference chart. For the study, researchers measured height and weight for children aged 6–11 with severe AD. Data were analyzed by gender and stratified per proportion of patients above and below the 50th percentile of CDC growth reference charts for height, weight, and BMI at baseline. The proportion of patients with a change from baseline in height percentile ≥5 (patients below the 25th, 30th, 40th, and 50th height percentiles at baseline) were reported at Week 16.
The main takeaway? A significantly greater proportion of children below the 25th, 30th or 40th percentiles at baseline achieved a ≥5 percentile improvement in height when treated with dupilumab compared with placebo [<25th percentile:11.9% placebo (n=42) vs. 30.6% dupilumab (n=62), P=0.0329; <30th percentile:11.1% placebo (n=45) vs 31.9% dupilumab (n=69), P=0.0129; <40th percentile:15.5% placebo (n=58) vs 31.3% dupilumab (n=83), P=0.0467].
“These data from a rigorously selected population for Phase 3 evaluation support the body of real-world evidence indicating that severe AD during childhood carries a risk of lower stature, as well as higher weight and BMI compared with healthy reference standards,”
“Dupilumab is an intervention that leads to a meaningful impact in the long run,” says Hensin Tsao, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Dermatology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. Dr Tsao co-chaired the late-breaking abstract session at Maui Derm Hawaii 2025.
