DPem

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a rare autoimmune blistering disease occuring in the elderly. Patients suffer from intense itching and skin inflammation. There is no cure for BP. Corticosteroids rapidly clear symptoms, but do not cure the disease. Hence, they have to be applied for prolonged times. This is poorly tolerated in the elderly patient population, and is one major reason for death. Hence, there is a so far high unmet medical need for the development of safe and effective treatments for BP. Dimethyl fumarate (DMF), originally derived from the herbal plant Fumaria officinalis, has been licensed for psoriasis. In pre-clinical models of BP and similar pemphigoid diseases, we showed that DMF is therapeutically active. Based on this observation, we here will test the efficacy and safety of adjuvant DMF in BP. We expect that patients who receive additional DMF will require lower doses of corticosteroids, experience less relapses, and survive longer.