Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that manifests as itchiness and polymorphic rashes that severely diminish quality of life.¹ While clinical trials have established the efficacy of abrocitinib in moderate to severe AD, real-world data among Chinese patients have been limited.¹ At the EADV Congress 2025, Dr. Li Zhang from the First Hospital of China Medical University in China, presented the second interim analysis of the Abrocitinib Chinese Registry on Atopic Dermatitis (AHEAD) study, demonstrating that abrocitinib provides rapid onset and sustained control of AD symptoms, leading to reduced disease burden and improved quality of life.¹

AHEAD is an ongoing, prospective, multicenter registry study assessing the real-world demographics, treatment patterns, and effectiveness of abrocitinib in Chinese patients with AD.¹ The registry includes participants from approximately 40 cities in China.¹ Eligible adults were those aged ≥18 years with a clinical diagnosis of AD, either abrocitinib-naïve or having discontinued prior treatment for over 30 days.¹ The baseline period was defined as the 30 days prior to the initiation of abrocitinib, with follow-up extending up to 15 months.¹

Data were collected during routine clinical visits at weeks 2, 4, 12, 24, 52, and 64, encompassing patient- and physician-reported outcomes via electronic case report forms and remote methods.¹ Effectiveness was evaluated by the proportion of patients achieving key outcomes: Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA) scores of 0 or 1, an improvement of at least 75% in the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI-75), Peak Pruritus Numerical Rating Scale (PP-NRS) responses of 2 or 4, Atopic Dermatitis Control Tool (ADCT) scores <7, and improvements of ≥4 points in the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI).¹ Additionally, effectiveness at week 12 was assessed based on prior systemic therapy exposure.¹

Between October 2023 and February 2025, a total of 1,117 AD patients were enrolled with a mean (SD) follow-up of 178.4 (117.3) days.¹ Among the patients with medication record, 89.4% started abrocitinib at 100mg daily, while the rest took 200mg daily.¹ In general, patients starting on 200mg daily had a higher baseline disease burden, as reflected by the significantly higher scores in IGA, PP-NRS, Patient Global Assessment Score (PtGA), Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM), ADCT and DLQI, as compared with those starting at 100mg (p<0.05 for all).¹ Dose adjustments occurred in 37.9% of patients, while adherence to therapy was high, with 93.6% of patients achieving a proportion of days covered (PDC) ≥0.8.¹ Among patients who discontinued abrocitinib, 18.1% experienced flare-ups during follow-up, with a mean time to flare-up of 30.9 days.¹

Abrocitinib demonstrated rapid and sustained effectiveness in AD, with improvements evident by week 2 and maintained through week 52.¹ At week 2, 23.4% of patients achieved EASI-75, which increased to 76.9% by week 52.¹ IGA scores of 0 or 1 rose from 14.3% to 69.2% over the same period.¹ Patient-reported improvements in pruritus, as measured by PP-NRS4 response (≥4-point improvement from the baseline), remained stable at 65%-68% across visits.¹ The percentage of patients achieving EASI-90 increased from 9.8% at week 2 to 55.7% by week 52.¹ Notably, those receiving 200mg of abrocitinib daily showed greater improvements in IGA, EASI, and PP-NRS scores compared to the 100mg dose, with noticeable effects starting from week 2.¹

Clinically meaningful improvements were observed across patient- and physician-reported outcomes over 52 weeks.¹ Mean scores improved across key measures, with IGA decreasing by 2.1 points, EASI by 10.1 points, and PP-NRS by 4.7 points.¹ Composite measures of disease burden, including SCORAD and POEM, decreased by 34.4 and 10.3 points, respectively.¹ Quality of life measures similarly improved, with DLQI decreased by 7.9 points, ADCT by 9.1 points, and PtGA from 3.3 to 1.8, reflecting enhanced symptom control and overall well-being.¹

Economic analysis revealed a significant reduction in total direct medical costs, with mean per-patient expenditure decreasing by CNY25,2550 within the first year following abrocitinib initiation.¹ The overall economic burden was also alleviated, as total healthcare costs encompassing direct nonmedical expenses and productivity losses demonstrated a consistent downward trend across all cost components after treatment.¹

Collectively, these findings from the second interim analysis demonstrated that abrocitinib provides rapid and sustained improvement in pruritus, skin lesions, and quality of life over 52 weeks, accompanied by a reduction in economic burden.¹ These results reinforce the clinical value of abrocitinib as an effective long-term treatment option for patients with AD in routine practice in China.¹