Fast-track designation for atopic dermatitis drug

On Dec. 10, Asana BioSciences announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted fast-track designation for the investigational ASN002, an oral treatment for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis that is based on the inhibition of both a JAK and spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) inhibitor.

“This designation recognizes the importance of accelerating the development of new medicines for the treatment of challenging dermatological/ inflammatory diseases that have a major impact on patients’ daily quality of life,” said Sandeep Gupta, founder and CEO of Asana.

ASN002 is currently under study in a phase 2b trial, RADIANT (Relief from Atopic DermatitIs with JAK and SYK INhibiTion-NCT03654755). And, in a phase 2 trial for patients with severe chronic hand eczema (NCT03728504). Asana reports that ASN002 is the first oral drug to demonstrate improvement in atopic dermatitis.