New Medication For Eczema Patients In Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- Protopic, the world's first non-steroidal medication for eczema sufferers, is available in Malaysia from Wednesday.
Announcing this, Dr Steven Chow, organising chairman of the Seventh Asian Congress of Dermatology, said that patients suffering from moderate to severe atopic dermatitis or eczema would find relief with this latest advancement in the management of eczema.
"Protopic is effective and well tolerated for long-term management of eczema in children above two years old and adults," Dr Chow, a consultant dermatologist, told a news conference here.
He said an estimated 10 to 14 per cent of Malaysians under the age of 14 suffer from eczema.
Protopic is an ointment-based topical immunomodulator first launched in Japan in 1999 with the discovery of a breakthrough drug Tacrolimus.
Eczema is commonly known to be caused by underlying abnormalities of the immune system which leads to intense itching, inflammation and skin damage and it is also a condition with extreme and life-altering effects on the quality of live of sufferers.
Speaking at the news conference, Professor Sakari Reitamo, a dermatology specialist with the Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland, said that Protopic provided improvement in the signs and symptoms of moderate to severe eczema, generally seen within one week of starting treatment and it could be used on any part of the body, including sensitive areas such as the face and neck.
Protopic, manufactured by Janssen-Cilag, a division of Johnson & Johnson, is available in Malaysia in two concentrations and can be prescribed by a doctor or purchased from pharmacies with doctor's recommendation.