WAIKOLOA, HAWAII – Topical clindamycin 1.2%/benzoyl peroxide 2.5% gel proved markedly less irritating than adapalene 0.1%/benzoyl peroxide 2.5% gel in an observer-blinded, split-face acne treatment study.
Twenty-one acne patients applied clindamycin 1%/benzoyl peroxide 2.5% gel (Acanya Gel, Valeant) to one side of their face and adapalene 0.1%/benzoyl peroxide 2.5% gel (Epiduo Gel, Galderma) to the other side once daily for 14 days.
On day 14, 86% of patients reported mild to no redness on the Acanya-treated side of their face. In contrast, 62% of patients rated their Epiduo-treated side as having mild to no erythema, according to Dr. William Ting, a dermatologist in San Ramon, Calif.
Dr. William Ting
One patient dropped out of the study because of severe erythema on the Epiduo-treated side of their face on day 5, another stopped the combination gel on day 9, and two more patients reported severe erythema on their Epiduo-treated side on day 14. In contrast, no one developed severe erythema on the Acanya-treated half of the face. Blinded investigator clinical assessment of dryness and erythema was scored on a 0-3 scale, with 0 signaling none and 3 severe. Mean erythema scores worsened from baseline value of 0.2 by 0.7 points at 14 days on the Acanya-treated side, and by a significantly greater 1.3 points on the Epiduo side. Dryness increased by a mean 0.4 points on the Acanya side and by 1.0 points with Epiduo.
Dr. Ting observed that both of the topical benzoyl peroxide fixed combination products have previously demonstrated comparable efficacy in separate large clinical trials for treatment of both inflammatory and noninflammatory lesions in patients with moderate acne. But it’s reasonable to assume that the reduced irritation potential with Acanya is likely to translate into better treatment adherence, he noted at the seminar sponsored by the Skin Disease Education Foundation (SDEF).
"The study findings suggest that dermatologists may not have to sacrifice efficacy for tolerability when it comes to topical acne therapy. For patients with sensitive skin where benzoyl peroxide is helpful, Acanya may be an excellent consideration," he said in an interview.
Dr. Ting reported that he serves on the advisory board for Valeant, which markets Acanya.
SDEF and this news organization are owned by Elsevier.