JAK Safety and Treating Patients

Dr. Neal Bhatia (00:07):

Hi, I am Dr. Neal Bhatia. I'm chief medical editor of Practical Dermatology and director of Clinical Dermatology at Therapeutics Clinical Research in San Diego, California.

(00:16):

I think one of the biggest tragedies is the fact that a topical JAK inhibitor, especially ruxolitinib in particular, has a box warning, which is really a shame. Because the pharmacokinetics don't lend to any absorption, we don't see any issue with using these drugs, which are very safe, they have a very strong sprint effect putting out the fire, and we see whether it's done not only in atopic dermatitis, but vitiligo especially.

(00:36):

I think dermatologists just need to get over the fact that box warnings are just a guidance. No one's going to come in and steal your prescription pad and send you to JAK inhibitor jail just because you're using these drugs. At the same time, JAK inhibitors have some very strong safety profiles, they're very fast, and they work very well in a lot of these patients.

(00:54):

So thinking in terms of the box warning, especially for a topical drug, I think it's a shame that we let these issues get in the way of actually doing what's right for patients.