Speaking to the data supporting UCB’s supplemental license application for bimekuzimab (Bimzelyx) for drug approval in moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), Amit Garg, MD, founding chairman, Department of Dermatology, Northwell Health, said: “These there are patients who are getting their lives back and that’s a really remarkable result… We don’t get to say that to patients very often.”

In Part 2 of our interview with Garg, who is also Senior Vice President of Dermatology Service Line at Northwell Health and Professor, Center for Health Innovation and Outcomes Research, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, at Northwell Health, he discusses dual interleukin- The potential of 17A and 17F inhibitors to dramatically change patient outcomes.

The interview has been edited for clarity.

Transcription

How do open-label extension data from the BE HEARD study shape future long-term treatment strategies?

My conclusions from the open-label extension data (were) that over 96 weeks, bimekizumab showed both durability and consistency in the treatment of patients with moderate to severe HS. Both results are extremely important for the management of a disease, as we discussedwhich has a very high symptom burden, is chronic, and again is likely to be progressive if not adequately treated. So, consequently, the 96-week findings provide I believe an important direction for patients and physicians in devising a long-term treatment strategy for HS.

What key study results might influence how clinicians prioritize patient-reported outcomes when considering bimekizumab?

One of the results I was most impressed with with bimekizumab was its effect on drainage tunnels, which are among the most burdensome types of lesions for HS patients. So when patients report their results, often what they report is related to the burden of the tunnel and the burden of that drainage and odor that results from the tunneling. In long-term data, bimekizumab-treated patients had a nearly 75% reduction in the number of drainage tunnels at 2 years.

So, not surprisingly, after 2 years of bimekizumab treatment, one-third of HS patients reported no effect on their lives due to their disease. Quite simply, these are patients who are getting their lives back, and this is a truly remarkable outcome for patients with moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa. We can’t say that often to patients.

How might these findings also guide clinical decisions about transitioning patients to less frequent doses while maintaining effective disease control?

There are a few things to consider here. First, for patients on a weekly biologic, such as an (anti-)TNF (tumor necrosis factor-α), adalimumab, for example, particularly those who may have an inadequate response to treatment them, they may soon have the option to switch to bimekizumab, which is a once-a-month administration — pending approval by a regulatory agency, of course.

We don’t yet know what the FDA is going to say in terms of how it should be used, but one option that we as clinicians are hoping for is the ability to step up treatment so that if patients, for example, are on only once. -monthly bimekizumab dosing, doing well but could do better, we would like the option to be able to switch to twice monthly dosing or every 2 weeks again to try to get an improved or indeed adequate dose response to therapy.