Lit­tle Der­mi­ra’s shares zoom up on promis­ing PhI­Ib atopic der­mati­tis da­ta — but the road ahead is ul­tra risky and flanked by heav­i­ly armed gi­ants

Just over 18 months since Der­mi­ra agreed to pay Roche some $135 mil­lion in near-term cash for its dis­ap­point­ing IL-13 an­ti-in­flam­ma­to­ry drug le­brik­izum­ab, hus­tling it straight in­to a $200 mil­lion mid-stage study for atopic der­mati­tis, the biotech claims to have the ef­fi­ca­cy da­ta to back up its claims that they have a block­buster on their hands.

Now they’re run­ning it in­to a piv­otal pro­gram, long af­ter the drug floun­dered in asth­ma un­der the phar­ma gi­ant.

Lit­tle Der­mi­ra is tak­ing on the 600-pound go­ril­la in atopic der­mati­tis: the IL-13/IL-4 drug Dupix­ent, from Re­gen­eron and Sanofi. And it won’t be easy.

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.

SIGN UP LOG IN BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER