Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Awarded $2.7 Million from NIH to Investigate Novel Therapy for Eczema
“Narrow Pathway’-Targeted Immune Therapy May Spare Patients from Side Effects
The National Institutes of Health has awarded a research team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai $2.7 million to study systemic treatments for patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD), also known as eczema. Currently, no treatments are available that achieve long-term remission without difficult side effects for this debilitating skin disorder, characterized by inflammation, severe itching, and a rash that can adversely affect many aspects of everyday life.
The team will investigate the efficacy of a new intravenous medication, ILV-094, which blocks IL-22, an important protein that has been shown in animal models to trigger epidermal growth and differentiation abnormalities and chronic inflammation, which are major features of AD. The researchers see the study as potentially groundbreaking in using “narrow pathway”-targeted immune interventions for not just AD, but other “allergic” inflammatory diseases of the skin or other organs, such as asthma.
At the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Emma Guttman-Yassky, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Dermatology, and Director of the Center for Excellence in Eczema and the Laboratory for Inflammatory Skin Diseases leads the study, with Mark Lebwohl, MD, Professor and Chair of Dermatology and James G. Krueger, MD, PhD, D. Martin Carter Professor and head of the Laboratory for Investigative Dermatology at The Rockefeller University as co-PIs. Dr. Guttman has a joint appointment at Rockefeller and will oversee the clinical and mechanistic studies at both institutions.
Dr. Guttman was the first investigator to show in humans that a separate population of T cells secrete interleukin 22 (IL-22) and she also discovered the importance of the Th22 pathway and IL-22 in AD.
“Dr. Guttman has been at the forefront of many of the most important strides in understanding the pathophysiology of atopic dermatitis,” said Dr. Lebwohl. “This trial is an important step in developing safer treatments for patients with moderate to severe AD.”
“I hope that this research results in a final proof of concept and a novel treatment for AD without side effects,” said Dr. Guttman. The clinical trial is expected to last five years. The majority of the clinical trial, will be conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
The Department of Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai provides outstanding care using the latest advances in dermatology care. Adult and pediatric patients are seen in the Dermatology Clinic, the Inpatient Consult Service, and the Faculty Practice. The Department has several divisions, including General Dermatology, Clinical Trials Department, Dermatopathology Division, Dermatologic Surgery, Dermatology Research Laboratories, and Inpatient Consultative Service. The Department has been involved in many leading clinical trials that have paved the way to the latest standards of care in dermatology diseases.
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Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025.
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