Q2 2026 Recap: Dermatology News & Updates

During the second quarter of 2026, a series of notable events took place in the field of dermatology, including the release of emerging clinical data, new regulatory advancements, and the general evolution of treatment paradigms, reshaping the management of inflammatory skin diseases. Stories regarding new US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals as well as promising investigational therapies and consensus recommendations shaped Q2 2026.

Among some of the most significant Q2 developments was the FDA approval of roflumilast 0.3% cream (Zoryve) for plaque psoriasis in patients within a younger age bracket. Other FDA news highlighted this month included the addition of a new active ingredient added to the over-the-counter (OTC) sunscreen monograph. Clinical research generated several important new data, including new head-to-head data comparing zasocitinib to deucravacitinib in psoriasis. Additionally, interviews and presentations from the 2026 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) and other meetings offered insight into the future of dermatologic care.

Q2 2026 also saw the release of new consensus definitions from the International Eczema Council, the contents of which are expected to support greater consistency in both clinical research and patient management in dermatology. The following review of the second quarter of 2026 highlights 5 key pieces of the HCPLive team’s coverage of dermatology news:

Zasocitinib Bests Deucravacitinib on PsO Skin Clearance in Phase 3 Head-to-Head

In 1 notable study covered during Q2, the LATITUDE Atlas analysis (NCT06973291) results suggested zasocitinib, an investigational once-daily oral tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, attained statistically superior rates of complete skin clearance versus deucravacitinib across all of the phase 3 trial’s primary and key secondary endpoints. This head-to-head trial looked at adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and found more than 35% of individuals on zasocitinib 30 mg once daily achieved a Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) 100 response at Week 16. This was 2.5 times higher than the PASI 100 response seen in patients receiving deucravacitinib 6 mg once daily.

"In this head-to-head study, zasocitinib clearly demonstrated superior skin clearance compared with deucravacitinib, highlighting clinically meaningful differences within the oral treatment class," Linda Stein Gold, MD, Director of Dermatology Clinical Research at Henry Ford Health and principal investigator for the LATITUDE Atlas study, said in a statement. "As expectations for oral therapies continue to rise, these findings support the potential of zasocitinib to help transform what patients and physicians can expect from an oral option in plaque psoriasis."

FDA Adds Bemotrizinol as First New Sunscreen Ingredient in Decades

In a notable FDA decision from Q2 2026, the agency finalized an order including bemotrizinol as a newly-permitted active ingredient in its OTC sunscreen product list approved for skin cancer protection. This move by the FDA marked the first addition of a new active ingredient to the OTC sunscreen monograph in decades. The June 9 announcement highlighted bemotrizinol’s existing approval in Europe and other international markets prior to this decision as well as its broad-spectrum protection against both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation.

“As promised in the Trump Administration’s MAHA Strategy Report, HHS is advancing innovation by bringing a new sunscreen ingredient to the US market for the first time in 20 years,” US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement.

Related: How to Counsel Patients About Skincare Safety, Sunscreen Safety, and Product Ingredients

FDA Approves Roflumilast 0.3% Cream for PsO in Children 2-5 Years

Another notable second quarter development in dermatology was the FDA’s roflumilast cream 0.3% (Zoryve) approval. The drug by Arcutis Biotherapeutics was approved by the agency for plaque psoriasis in pediatric patients as young as 2 years of age, with the decision expanding the topical phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitor's indication in the space. The drug has been limited to patients aged 6 and older prior to this decision and makes roflumilast cream the first and only topical PDE4 inhibitor indicated for children with psoriasis under the age of 6 years.

The supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) supporting roflumilast’s pediatric expansion had previously been submitted in September 2025. The decision to submit it to the FDA was backed by findings resulting from a 4-week Maximal Usage Systemic Exposure (MUSE) trial in children aged 2–5 years with psoriasis as well as an ongoing long-term open-label study. Roflumilast cream 0.3% is also now the only topical medication specifically approved by the agency for intertriginous psoriasis.

Discussing Future of Amlitelimab, OX40/OX40L Treatment, With Eingun James Song, MD

Many dermatology clinicians are following news regarding the OX40/OX40 ligand pathway and OX-40-targeted medications such as amlitelimab as a potential future avenue for the skin health space. In an interview with Eingun James Song, MD, the director of clinical research for Frontier Dermatology, at the AAD Annual Meeting in Denver, Song was asked by the HCPLive team about his perceptions of the potential benefit of Sanofi's amlitelimab, for which they are moving ahead with regulatory submissions. He was specifically asked about this in light of the rocatinlimab discontinuation due to sarcoma cases.

“There's potential for at least amlitelimab, which is an OX40-ligand inhibitor, that you can dose these patients every four or even every twelve weeks,” Song stated. “Now that being said, it's important to note that there are two drugs that work on this pathway. One is called rocatinlimab, which is an OX40 receptor blocker, but it's also a depleter. It depletes those T cells. And that could maybe explain some of the adverse events that we've seen with rocatinlimab.”

International Eczema Council Releases Definitions of Remission, Low Disease Activity

Another notable Q2 development was JAMA’s publication of a new consensus statement regarding a longstanding gap in atopic dermatitis research and care: the non-existence of universally accepted definitions for several key outcomes related to atopic dermatitis treatment. Such outcomes include low disease activity (LDA), very low disease activity (vLDA), and remission of one’s disease. Clinical manifestations of eczema are known to be both variable and dependent on one’s age, and this statement regarding disease definitions for atopic dermatitis outcomes was authored to address the murkiness related to treatment.

It was authored by investigators such as Joseph Merola, MD, MMSc, of the department of dermatology and department of medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and O’Donnell School of Public Health in Dallas. In this statement, Merola and coauthors highlighted, despite recent advances in targeted treatments leading to increased levels of disease control, there remained variability in the ways outcomes are defined.