First drug for hidradenitis suppurativa recommended by EMA/CHMP

The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended extending the use of us drugmaker AbbVie’s (NYSE: ABBV) mega-blockbuster drug Humira (adalimumab) to include treatment of adults with active moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa (acne inversa), who have failed to respond to conventional systemic treatments.

Hidradenitis supportiva is a chronic skin disease that causes abscesses and scarring on the skin – usually around the groin, buttocks, breasts and armpits. Humira is the first medicine that is recommended for approval for the treatment of this disease in the European Union.

Humira was first authorized in the EU in September 2003 for the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis. The use of Humira was later extended to include the treatment of other inflammatory autoimmune conditions in adults and children, including juvenile idiopathic arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, plaque psoriasis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.