Lisa Beck, a professor of dermatology at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), will soon begin an NIH-funded clinical trial of Actos (pioglitazone), a drug often prescribed for diabetics, which may turn out to strengthen the skin barrier and reduce symptoms for eczema patients.
Actos, made by Takeda Pharmaceuticals and already approved by the FDA in pill form, could appear unofficially on the market for eczema therapy much sooner than a new drug discovered from scratch.
"Experts sometimes use off-label drugs to treat patients with moderate to severe eczema or atopic
