The chronic skin condition atopic dermatitis (AD) is often thought of as a bothersome rash. The truth is, people with moderate to severe AD can suffer considerably on a daily basis.

“My skin was so raw, bloody and uncomfortable – I couldn’t get out of bed,” saySteve Garwon, who lives with AD.

Pfizer is committed to researching potential treatments in this area and, in 2019, announced positiveresults from two late-stage clinical trials for our investigational treatment, abrocitinib, in people with this condition. Pfizer has been a pioneer in the study of an innovative class of drugs to treat autoimmune conditions known as janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors. Abrocitinib, which was designated as a Breakthrough Therapy by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is one such drug. If approved, it may be able to help patients with moderate to severe AD.

“We’re excited by the developments we’ve seen from our leading JAK science program,” says Michael Vincent, Chief Scientific Officer, Inflammation & Immunology, Pfizer. “We have the potential to target a wide range of conditions, like AD, with the hope of delivering treatments to patients that need them the most.”

Pfizer anticipates announcing further results of abrocitinib research in 2020.

Garwon says, “I am grateful that Pfizer is continuing to focus on helping people like myself come out of the shadows so that we’re not alone.”