Adults whose skin breaks out in itchy, raised welts after scratching, rubbing or everyday skin friction now have their first FDA-approved treatment designed for that problem. On Oct. 7, Novartis announced that the FDA approved Rhapsido (remibrutinib) for symptomatic dermographism (SD) in adults whose symptoms are not controlled by H1 antihistamines.
The approval matters because SD is not rare. An international survey of 59,543 adults published in the journal Allergy estimated that about 3.2% of people have symptomatic dermographism at any given time, with the highest rates among adults ages 25 to 60 and among women. Until now, patients who did not improve on antihistamines had no treatment approved specifically for their condition.
