Atopic dermatitis patients report quality of life improvements with Opzelura | AAD 2026

In patients with moderate atopic dermatitis, the use of Opzelura (ruxolitinib) led to early and sustained improvements in quality of life for adult patients, according to a poster presented at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Association annual meeting.

Atopic dermatitis is a chronic and recurring inflammatory skin condition that affects about 9.6 million children and 16.5 million adults in the United States.

Developed by Incyte Corp., Opzelura is a topical nonsteroidal that is approved for patients 2 years of age and older with mild-to-moderate atopic dermatitis and was also approved in July 2022 for patients 12 years and older with vitiligo. It is a selective JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor that generated $678 million in net sales in fiscal year 2025.

The wholesale acquisition cost of Opzelura is $2,094 per tube. Eligible patients with commercial coverage for Opzelura may pay as little as $0 per tube. Some patients whose coverage does not include the drug can pay $35 per prescription but must go to participating pharmacies. The terms of the copay savings card say copay adjustment programs such as maximizer or accumulator programs may impact the value of the card.

Investigators wanted to evaluate the patient report outcomes from the TRuE-AD4 clinical trial, a phase 3b randomized study. Clinical results from this study were previously reported and found Opzelura improved the clinical signs of atopic dermatitis, including improved itch as early as day 2. At week 8, 70% of patients treated with Opzelura achieved a ≥75% improvement in the Eczema Area and Severity Index and 61.3% achieved Investigator’s Global Assessment Treatment Success.

At AAD, investigators presented the results of patients’ reported outcomes through week 8. A total of 241 patients were randomized to either Opzelura 1.5% cream or an inactive cream in the TRuE-AD4 clinical study. Many of these patients had previously used topical calcineurin inhibitors or topical corticosteroids.

Patients reported a reduction of itch starting on day 1 with further improvement over the course of the trial. Compared with vehicle, more patients using Opzelura reported clear or almost clear skin using the Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM), a questionnaire used to measure the severity of atopic dermatitis. Patients also reported improvements in pain scores. In terms of sleep quality, patients reported a six- or more-point gain improvement using PROMIS Sleep-related Impairment and PROMIS Sleep Disturbances measures.

Opzelura was well-tolerated. The most common treatment-related adverse events for patients who used Opzelura were acne, application site pain, and headache. Investigators found there were no adverse events similar to those seen with systemic JAK inhibitors, such as serious infections, malignancies, major adverse cardiovascular events, or thrombosis.

Additionally, there were few adverse events similar to those seen with other topic treatments for atopic dermatitis, including contact dermatitis, diarrhea or folliculitis.