Singapore Studying Efficacy, Safety Of Vitiligo Drug

It is pending approvals here but available via special access routes

- Zhaki Abdullah

The National Skin Centre (NSC) is conducting a study on a drug for vitiligo that is currently available here via special access routes.

For now, ruxolitinib, which is produced by Singapore-based pharmaceutical firm Rxilient, is the only prescription medication approved for treating vitiligo, an autoimmune disorder that results in patches of skin losing their pigment.

Sold in the US and Europe under the brand name Opzelura, ruxolitinib was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2022 to treat non-segmental vitiligo in patients who are at least 12 years old.

It was approved for use in Europe in 2023, and in Hong Kong the following year.

It is pending regulatory approvals in Singapore but has been available since July under the Health Sciences Authority's (HSA) special access route, by which doctors bring in certain unregistered therapeutic products for patients.

NSC deputy director Steven Thng told reporters on Aug 25: "Current studies on the effectiveness of ruxolitinib are conducted mainly on Western populations; hence, experience on the effectiveness of the treatment for the Asian population is lacking. This real-world experience data collection will fill the knowledge gap."