The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for priority review the supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for Dupixent (dupilumab) to treat adults with bullous pemphigoid (BP).

The sBLA is supported by data from a pivotal study evaluating the efficacy and safety of Dupixent in 106 adults with moderate-to-severe BP. The primary endpoint was met, with five times more Dupixent patients achieving sustained disease remission compared to those on placebo. Sustained disease remission was defined as complete clinical remission with completion of oral corticosteroids (OCS) taper by week 16 (off OCS treatment and only treated with Dupixent for at least 20 weeks) without relapse and no rescue therapy use during the 36-week treatment period. The study also showed that Dupixent significantly reduced disease severity, itch, and use of OCS compared to placebo.

Adverse events more commonly observed with Dupixent (in at least 3 patients) compared to placebo included peripheral edema, arthralgia, back pain, blurred vision, hypertension, asthma, conjunctivitis, constipation, upper respiratory tract infection, limb injury, and insomnia.

BP is a chronic, debilitating, and relapsing skin disease with underlying type-2 inflammation that typically occurs in an elderly population. It is characterized by intense itch and blisters, reddening of the skin, and painful lesions. The blisters and rash can form over much of the body and cause the skin to bleed and crust, resulting in patients being more prone to infection and affecting their daily functioning. Approximately 27,000 adults in the US live with BP that is uncontrolled by systemic corticosteroids.

Priority review is granted to regulatory applications seeking approval for therapies that have the potential to provide significant improvements in the treatment, diagnosis, or prevention of serious conditions. Dupixent was previously granted orphan drug designation by the FDA for BP, which applies to investigational medicines intended for the treatment of rare diseases that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the US.

The safety and efficacy of Dupixent in BP are currently under clinical assessment and have not been evaluated by any regulatory authority.