Acne is a disease of the pilosebaceous unit involving increased sebum production, bacterial proliferation and inflammation1
40 to 50 million people in the US have acne including approximately 10 million with moderate to severe acne
Acne commonly occurs in adolescents and in patients between 15 to 24 years of age with prevalence of approximately 85%
The US spend on acne prescription drugs is estimated to reach $7 billion by 20252
Current treatments like benzoyl peroxide, retinoids (e.g., isotretinoin) or antibiotics (e.g., clindamycin) are suboptimal due to side effects and/or limited efficacy
Moderate to severe acne is widely treated with oral therapies
Isotretinoin is teratogenic and associated with multiple clinical side effect, psychiatric disorders and biochemical changes3. It is sold in the US only under REMS program*
A well tolerated oral drug, which can effectively reduce sebum production could become an attractive therapeutic alternative to Isotretinoin
1 Journal of Investigative Dermatology (2006) 126, 2154–2156
2 Cowen March 2019
3 Accutane FDA label
* FDA mandated “restricted-distribution risk evaluation and mitigation strategy
