Leo Pharma’s delgocitinib cream produces a deep, consistent, and/or maintained response in a subgroup of super-responders with moderate-to-severe Chronic Hand Eczema (CHE), according to a late-breaker presented at the American Academy of Dermatology’s 2025 Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL.
The subgroup analysis was based on the treatment response in patients with moderate-to-severe CHE treated with delgocitinib cream 20 mg/g for 16 weeks compared to patients treated with the cream vehicle in the DELTA 1 and DELTA 2 trials. The subgroup in this analysis was defined as patients with either a deep, consistent, and/or maintained treatment response.
“It is so exciting to see such a strong response in a subgroup of patients treated with delgocitinib cream,” says April W Armstrong, MD, Professor and Chief of Dermatology at the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), in a news release. “The results across the various treatment metrics are promising and demonstrate the future potential that delgocitinib cream may have in offering a new treatment option for those living with this unique and burdensome disease.”
A deep response, defined as a Hand Eczema Symptom Diary (HESD) itch of 0 (clear) or 1 (almost clear), HESD pain 0/1, and/or a Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) score of 0/1 at Week 16, was achieved by more patients receiving delgocitinib cream versus the cream vehicle.
At Week 16, 30.0% vs. 9.4% of patients achieved a HESD itch of 0/1, 35.2% vs. 16.0% achieved HESD pain of 0/1, and 33.3% vs. 13.9% achieved a DLQI score of 0/1, the study showed.
Greater percentages of patients receiving delgocitinib cream vs. the cream vehicle over the trial period achieved a consistent response of at least a 4-point reduction from baseline in HESD itch (24.1% vs. 6.6%) or pain (25.0% vs. 9.0%) or at least 75% improvement on the Hand Eczema Severity Index (HECSI-75) (27.3% vs. 8.1%).
A maintained response was defined as achieving an Investigator’s Global Assessment (IGA)-CHE of 0 (clear) at Week 16 and maintaining IGA-CHE 0 off treatment. Among patients receiving delgocitinib cream who achieved an IGA-CHE score of 0 at Week 16, 32.9% maintained a score of 0 after 8 weeks and 15.7% after 16 weeks.
Delgocitinib cream is a topical pan-Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor for the treatment of moderate to severe CHE. Currently, delgocitinib cream (Anzupgo, LEO Pharma)is approved for adults in the European Union, United Kingdom, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates for the treatment of moderate-to-severe CHE for whom topical corticosteroids are inadequate or inappropriate, and is under investigation in other markets, including the United States.
