Characteristics of Adult Patients Treated With Delgocitinib for Chronic Hand Eczema in the United States: A Retrospective Claims-Based Analysis

Background: Chronic hand eczema (CHE) is a fluctuating inflammatory skin disease that affects 9.6% of the United States population and substantially impairs quality of life and daily functioning. In July 2025, delgocitinib became the first therapy approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for moderate-to-severe CHE in adults with an inadequate response to, or for whom topical corticosteroids are inadvisable. Real-world evidence on characteristics of patients initiated on delgocitinib is currently lacking. Objective: To describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of adults initiated on delgocitinib in US clinical practice. Methods: This retrospective analysis used the Komodo Research Data (KRD+) database (up to March 2026). Eligible patients were adults (≥18 years) with ≥1 delgocitinib prescription fill on or after its FDA approval, ≥1 eczema/dermatitis diagnosis (ICD-10-CM: L20.x, L23.x–L25.x, L30.x) at any time, and ≥12 months of continuous enrollment before delgocitinib initiation (index date) were included. Patient characteristics, eczema-related healthcare resource utilization, and eczema-related treatments during the 12 months prior to the index date were descriptively summarized. Results: A total of 3,690 patients had ≥1 delgocitinib prescription fill, with 2,714 (73.6%) meeting the inclusion criteria (mean age: 45.8 years; 62.9% female). Among patients with available race/ethnicity data, most were White (62.0%), followed by Hispanic or Latino (11.9%), Asian or Pacific Islander (10.8%), and Black or African American (9.9%). Most were commercially insured (85.7%), with 10.0% covered by Medicare and 4.1% by Medicaid. Common comorbidities included anxiety disorders (25.1%), depressive disorders (15.1%), allergic rhinitis (14.3%), and asthma (12.3%). The most common eczema/dermatitis ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes observed in the 12 months prior to the index date were atopic dermatitis (47.4%) and other and unspecified dermatitis (69.9%). During the 12 months prior to the index date, 84.6% had ≥1 eczema/dermatitis-related outpatient visit and 44.2% had ≥1 dermatologist encounter. At index, delgocitinib was most frequently prescribed by dermatologists (45.8%) and physician assistants (24.3%). Overall, 81.5% received ≥1 eczema-related treatment in the 12 months prior to delgocitinib initiation, with a mean of 1.9 distinct medications. Topical therapy was most common (73.2%); 65.6% received topical corticosteroids, 16.7% received topical calcineurin inhibitors, and 18.4% received advanced topical therapy (including phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitors [9.1%], Janus kinase [JAK] inhibitors besides delgocitinib [7.4%], and/or aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists [4.7%]). Systemic therapy was used by 39.6%, including systemic corticosteroids (32.6%), biologics (9.2%), systemic immunosuppressants (2.2%), and oral JAK inhibitors (1.8%). Medications for comorbidities were also common, including pain (33.8%), sleep (25.3%), and other psychotropic (34.7%) medications. Conclusions: In this first real-world characterization of US delgocitinib initiators, early adopters were predominantly middle-aged, female, and commercially insured. Most had received eczema-related therapies in the prior year, most commonly topical corticosteroids, with a substantial share also prescribed advanced topical or systemic agents. These findings describe adoption of delgocitinib into the evolving CHE treatment landscape and provide a foundation for future real-world evidence. Sponsored by LEO Pharma Inc.