• SKIN DISEASE TREATMENTS

    Dermatologically speaking: Finding new treatments for women

    Pharmafile sat down with the team at Organon to unearth the different ways that women’s dermatological conditions can be successfully supported and managed
    Pharmafile: What is the future plan for expanding the range of treatments available to women with dermatological conditions?
    Simon Nicholson, Managing Director UK&ENI Cluster:Essentially, we are a women’s health company built on three pillars: women’s health, biosimilars and established medications. We have a strong foundation of more than 60 medicines across a range of areas including contraception, reproductive health, menopause, cardiovascular disease, dermatology, allergy and asthma, to name a few.
    Our mission is to deliver impactful medicines and solutions every day for every woman. Our focus for the future is not limited, but our commitment remains to listen to women and identify areas of unmet need. This will drive our investment and our future portfolio.
    How does dermatitis and other skin conditions affect those suffering from them?
    Manjit Aujla, Lead Established Brands & Biosimilars UK-ENI:Dermatitis and other skin inflammatory conditions can have a real impact on self-esteem and confidence, and in extreme cases the psychological impact can be far reaching with some people experiencing depression and anxiety. 1 A person’s long-term well-being can be impaired by skin conditions. These can have a profound effect on all aspects of people’s lives, including personal relationships and social engagement. Improvements in awareness of skin conditions, and access to specialist services including psychological interventions, can be helpful in both treating and coping with many skin conditions. 2
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    What would you say is the greatest challenge faced by women suffering from skin conditions?
    Faye Sheen, Brand and Customer Manager UK and Ireland:It is very difficult to talk about one single challenge that women with skin conditions face as every part of their life can be affected – including relationships, careers, self-confidence, mental health, and in some cases, this could have an indirect impact on wider family members quality of life. 3
    Depression and anxiety are probably the greatest challenge for women suffering from skin conditions as this can affect women’s ability to work and study, and can have a major impact on family and social life. Women with skin conditions may want to cover up or shy away from social interactions.1
    What are the priorities in this area?
    Simon Nicholson: It is now five months since we launched Organon, and we launched with a commitment to identify the unmet needs in the women’s health space, by really listening to women and all our key stakeholders. We have continually sought the views of women through many channels, and it is clear there are a number of significant areas of unmet need in both the provision of solutions to treat conditions which specifically affect women, but also those which have a disproportionate effect on women. The biggest challenge for us moving forward will be to prioritise our efforts and ensure we are supporting women in the areas of greatest need, at the right time and in the right way. An example of this is the impact of COVID-19 on sexual health services, which in turn impacted access to contraception and resulted in a substantial increase in unplanned pregnancies across the world.
    “ The biggest challenge for us moving forward will be to prioritise our efforts and ensure we are supporting women in the areas of greatest need, at the right time and in the right way”
    On World Contraception Day, we partnered with The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health to shine a light on the challenges that women have faced through this disruption, and as part of a major initiative to improve access to LARCs, we have been pioneering the development of a new treatment pathway in Liverpool. By igniting the conversation around contraception, we hope to empower women with the knowledge that they need to understand the contraceptive options that are available to them.
    More recently, on World Menopause Day, we listened to women between the ages of 40-60 – undoubtedly a time in a woman’s life that can be really challenging. Our survey results confirmed that although there is still need for further education, when women feel supported, it can also be a time of real empowerment and a milestone that positively opens the door to the next chapter of their lives.
    Our next major milestone is International Women’s Day on March 8. We will be continuing to give women a voice, and continuing to listen so that we can make a material difference and create a better, and healthier, every day for every woman. This is just the beginning for us as a women’s health company. There is much more to come.
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    Simon Nicholson is the Managing Director of the UK & ENI Cluster at Organon, with over 14 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Simon is committed to making life better for each and every woman.
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    Faye Sheenis the Brand and Customer Manager UK and Ireland at Organon. Faye has a strong focus on supporting women, ensuring that women’s voices are heard, and is keen to make sure that Organon reflects what women want.
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    Manjit Aujlais the Lead of Established Brands and Biosimilars UK & ENI at Organon, with over 13 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Manjit has a particular interest in multi-channel marketing and integration.
  • INFLAMMATORY SKIN DISEASES

    “The pain keeps me awake at night. I can’t cope with this anymore”

    The therapeutic agents of the past decade have revolutionised dermatological treatments, improving the quality of life of patients with psoriasis. Dr Susanne Farwer at UCB shares her extensive clinical experience in the area
    Pharmafile: What have been the most significant advancements in dermatology and psoriasis management over the past decade?
    Dr Susanne Farwer: The past decade of dermatology has seen the development and launch of novel therapeutic agents with differentiated modes of action, enabling more targeted treatment approaches with a range of effective and well-tolerated therapies. The introduction of these therapies revolutionised dermatology and I have been very privileged to witness first-hand how these drugs have transformed the lives of patients living with chronic inflammatory dermatoses, such as psoriasis or atopic dermatitis.
    Despite these scientific advancements, psoriasis remains a challenge to treat, with a substantial proportion of patients not achieving optimal disease control with the current therapeutic options.
    My clinical years exposed me to countless patients desperately seeking that ‘magic pill’, with hopes and expectations for a treatment that will relieve them of the disease burden they have been carrying both mentally and physically. It is these experiences which inspire my passion for improving patient outcomes, and I am excited to be working at the forefront of these advancements.
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    What challenges and barriers still exist and prevent patients from reaching their treatment goals and living their lives to the fullest?
    More than 50% of the UK population are affected by skin disease at some point in their lifetime, with over 13 million people (24%) visiting their GP with a skin condition.1 In comparison to other chronic conditions such as diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or cardiovascular disease, dermatological conditions still rank low on the government and health policy makers’ agenda.
    The high disease burden and wide-ranging impact of psoriasis on people’s daily lives is still underestimated. Furthermore, the high prevalence of co-morbidities affecting joints, psychosocial well-being, and the metabolic system, are often not well understood or acknowledged across the various stakeholders in the healthcare system. Reports show that nearly 60% of people with psoriasis say the disease causes problems in their everyday lives.2 What vividly remains in my memory are the many patient struggles I heard during my clinical years.
    Patients consistently report a lack of understanding and awareness of the treatment options available to them, and so they fail to understand what they can and should expect from their treatment. This therefore limits their influence in shared decision making about their treatment pathway, in partnership with their dermatologist.
    “ My skin looks like a mess and people are staring at me; I am itching all over, and the pain keeps me awake at night. I can’t cope with this anymore, I don’t think anyone will ever find me attractive being covered in all these red patches from top to toe. I’ve not worn a sleeveless top in years and have lost all my confidence showing off my skin”
    anonymous patient, aged 35, from South Yorkshire.
    Currently, the system isn’t working well enough for people with psoriasis, so we are dedicated to working with healthcare professionals and the NHS to find new ways to overcome the systemic challenges that stand between people with skin diseases and access to innovative treatments, and holistic, integrated patient care.
    How is UCB Pharma challenging the status quo and how do you hope to impact the space going forward?
    Collaboration is fundamental to delivering transformative solutions to those who need it. While those involved in dermatology – patients, clinicians, payors, patient groups, or the scientists working to unlock the treatments of the future – face different challenges, ultimately, we are all working towards the same goal.
    This goal is to ensure better lives for those living with skin disease, and faster access to innovative treatments. By working together as partners, we believe we can significantly reduce the time from diagnosis to effective treatment and ultimately, find ways for everyone to feel comfortable in their own skin and live fulfilled lives, free of physical and emotional burden.
    We aim to not just listen to stakeholders and gather their insights, but to also involve them in the co-creation of insightdriven solutions. The recent pan-European EPICENSUS Project showcases our collaborative approach to improving outcomes for people living with psoriasis.3 Initiated in December 2020 by UCB, this integrated consensus programme involves key stakeholders (clinicians, payors and patient advocacy groups representatives) from across eight European countries, and focuses on generating engagement, gathering insights and enabling a multidisciplinary conversation. It will critically evaluate the current standard of care with regards to diagnosis, monitoring, access, and patient-reported outcomes in psoriasis, with results due to be published later this year. We hope that EPICENSUS will ultimately deliver a paradigm shift in outcomes for people with psoriasis, reducing the significant burden on the health care system and enhancing the delivery of future psoriasis care.
    How will new technology such as machine learning and AI influence the dermatology space in the coming years?
    New technologies such as machine learning have been successful in predicting the trajectory of patients’ health in various fields such as cancer, diabetic complications, and cardiovascular mortality. Recent studies have shown that although ample data exists on the efficacy of biologics in psoriasis, decision making on treatments is still often based on a trial-and-error approach. In a real-world setting, over 50% of patients required dose adjustment during therapy and 20-50% of patients experienced a relapse, resulting in a switch to another medication.4
    The application of such modelling algorithm methods for psoriasis treatment could help to predict long-term responses to biologics. Combining patient variables such as demographic data with disease and therapy specifics has shown promising results in this space.
    To make the use of these impressive technologies a common practice, further studies and analyses on a larger and more diverse dataset are needed to identify universally applicable criteria.
    What further advancements are needed in the dermatology space to achieve better health outcomes for patients, and enable an improved patient experience?
    The introduction of integrated care systems (ICSs) provides an opportunity to acknowledge the impact of skin conditions on wider society and the healthcare system. It is important that these ICSs are gathering these insights and using them to implement decisions that strive towards integrated approaches to care.
    It is also important that we are leveraging the range of data and the latest innovations in digital technologies to accelerate the identification of genetic, tissue and serum markers, to better predict treatment response and drug survival. This will help to optimise datadriven decision-making to personalise treatment and ultimately improve patient outcomes.
    Above all, we won’t stop searching for the best solutions so that everyone has the opportunity to feel completely comfortable in their own skin, to leave the burden of skin disease behind, and to lead a healthy and happy life free of embarrassment, stigma, and judgement.
    References
    1. Visit: www.abpi.org.uk/media/4684/der-0080-0517-dermatology_initiative_report_rev16.pdf
    2. Visit: www.mg217.com/your-psoriasis/statistics-aboutpsoriasis
    3. Visit: www.ucb.com/patients/magazine/detail/article/Our-Commitment-to-Changing-the-Status-Quo-in-Psoriasis-Care
    4. Emam S et al, Predicting the long-term outcomes of biologics in patients with psoriasis using machine learning, Br J Dermatol 182(5): pp1,305-1,307, 2019
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    Dr Susanne Farwerjoined UCB in August 2020 as the Medical Solutions Lead for Dermatology in the UK and Ireland. Prior to this move, she spent over 20 years as a healthcare professional including time as a GP and a Specialty and Associate Specialist (SAS) doctor in dermatology for the NHS.
    Susanne’s extensive clinical experience combined with her deep passion for advancing and implementing solutions that reduce the disease burden and improve patients’ quality of life, makes her an asset to UCB whose own philosophies include bringing innovative therapies to those with severe chronic diseases.
    On a personal level, Susanne prides herself on being adaptable, determined, and inspiring those around her, all while having a great sense of humour.