AbbVie’s Humira approved by SMC for hidradenitis suppurativa

AbbVie has announced that its drug Humira has become the first approved treatment for the chronic skin condition hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) for patients in Scotland.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium has accepted Humira for use within NHS Scotland for the treatment of active moderate to severe HS in adult patients with an inadequate response to conventional systemic HS therapy.

It has been shown to help reduce the number of total inflammatory nodules and abscesses associated with the condition by at least 50 percent, as well as reducing skin pain by one-third.

HS is a painful, systemic and debilitating lifetime skin disease with no cure. Up to 500 people are diagnosed with HS every year in Scotland, with this approval coming ahead of HS Awareness Week between June 6th and 12th.

Alice Butler, medical director of AbbVie in the UK, said: "We are very pleased that healthcare professionals will be able to prescribe an additional medicine, outside of traditional treatments which include antibiotics and steroids, to help patients manage the chronic, difficult-to-heal symptoms associated with HS."

Last month, Humira was recommended for European regulatory approval as a treatment for Crohn's disease in paediatric patients. To date, it has been used to treat more than 955,000 patients across 13 indications.