
AbbVie-sponsored eczema documentary debuts at South by Southwest
Alexis Smith was tired of being ashamed of her eczema. That’s why, as a 19-year-old in 2016, she posted side-by-side photos of her face with and without makeup.
The level of positive outreach she received was “very surprising,” and the eczema advocate continues to document her journey on social media. She’s also one of the voices in a new AbbVie-sponsored documentary about living with the debilitating skin condition.
“Eczema is so much more than a rash,” she told Endpoints News. It’s scratching, discomfort, sleepless nights, and isolation.
The 13-minute documentary, titled “Under My Skin: Untold Stories of Life with Eczema,” was directed by Redglass Pictures and debuted at South by Southwest in Austin, TX. Starting in April, it can be streamed on The Roku Channel.
Like AbbVie’s last documentary featuring eczema patients, “Skin: Our Barrier to the World” created by GlobalSkin, the film seeks to raise awareness for the physical and mental toll of eczema patients. However, the new film encourages patients to “talk to a doctor about a customized care plan that’s right for them.”
While the campaign is unbranded, it features a QR code that leads to AbbVie’s “eczemaHQ” website that contains information about what causes eczema, types of eczema and treatments, including a link to the company’s Rinvoq. More than 31 million Americans suffer from eczema, according to AbbVie, and up to half say they avoid social interactions because of it, the National Eczema Foundation reports.

Rinvoq was approved in 2022 for adults and children 12 years and older with severe atopic dermatitis, a common form of eczema, who did not respond to previous treatment. It contends with Dupixent, Sanofi and Regeneron’s blockbuster eczema drug that the French pharma estimated would reach peak sales of €13 billion. Earlier this week, Dermavant unveiled some late-stage data that suggest its plaque psoriasis-approved cream Vtama also worked in patients with atopic dermatitis, and the company said it would seek a label expansion.
“‘Under My Skin’ aims to help shed light on the impact of eczema through the lens of people living with the disease while also highlighting the resilient and supportive spirit within the eczema community,” Mike Rancourt, AbbVie’s VP of US dermatology, said in a news release.