Teikoku is developing a patch to treat pruritus. More details to be disclosed soon.
There are over 20 million patients with chronic pruritus (itching) treated with prescription drugs in the U.S. each year. Many of these patients still experience inadequate relief of their itching.
Pruritus, or itching, can be caused by a number of diseases ranging from dermatological conditions (e.g., atopic dermatitis/eczema and psoriasis), to hepatic conditions (e.g., hepatitis, jaundice), to chronic kidney disease. Pruritus affects well over 20 million patients in the United States. In fact, most of the dermatological patients diagnosed with atopic dermatitis or psoriasis suffer from itching as well as a third of the patients suffering from cholestatic liver disease and chronic kidney disease.
Corticosteroids were the leading product segment in 2013 owing to high efficacy exhibited by this class of drugs in treating pruritic conditions by reducing inflammation and itching. Topical applications of corticosteroids have been found to be extremely effective in the treatment and maintenance therapies pertaining to pruritus.