One shot, multiple benefits: New data shows allergy and infection advantages of new eczema drugs

Choosing an injectable therapy for your child's eczema is never easy—but biologic drugs like dupilumab have proven to be transformative. Although they’ve only been around for about a decade, and clinical trials support their safety, we’re still learning about their full impact.

Because clinical trials are costly, a team of researchers led by Dr. Marjolein de Bruin in the Netherlands has been collecting real-world data from patients using biologics. The databases can reveal patterns that aren’t picked up in clinical trials.

At the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) conference in Glasgow last month, Dr. de Bruin shared insights from this ongoing data collection. GPER’s Executive Director, Korey Capozza, was there to hear it firsthand.

“Surprisingly, biologics seem to help with other allergic conditions like asthma, hayfever, and food allergies, which are common in kids with eczema,” Korey said.

Asthma and Hayfever (Allergic Rhinitis)

Children with eczema frequently also experience hayfever or asthma—up to 80% of them will develop it at some point. Dr. de Bruin’s team studied 87 children who were about to begin treatment with dupilumab for eczema. Before treatment, they measured inflammation in the airways using a specialized breath test to assess whether the children also had asthma or hayfever.

After starting dupilumab, children with asthma were able to exhale more air in one second—a key marker of improved lung function—and showed less airway inflammation. Additionally, antibodies (a marker of allergic reactions) related to inhaled allergens like pollen and dust mites dropped by 60–90% in kids taking dupilumab. More information.

So, if you’re considering a biologic for eczema, you may also see improvements in your child's asthma or hayfever symptoms.

Food Allergies

Nearly half of all children with eczema also have food sensitivities or allergies. Dr. de Bruin’s team examined 36 children with known or suspected allergies to 10 common foods including nuts, eggs, and milk. They tracked specific antibody levels before and after starting dupilumab.

Within the first 16 weeks, antibody levels dropped significantly—and after one year, they were 70-80% lower. While this is promising, the team cautioned that lower antibody levels don’t necessarily mean reduced reaction severity or full tolerance. However, if your child has been on dupilumab for a year, it may be worth discussing food challenge testing under medical supervision with your healthcare provider. Just keep in mind, it’s still unknown whether these antibody levels remain low after stopping dupilumab. 

More studies are needed, but researchers are hopeful that early treatment with dupilumab may help prevent the development of food allergies in infants.

Decreased Infection Risk

Children with eczema are more prone to infections due to a damaged skin barrier, making it essential to manage eczema as effectively as possible and treat it as recommended by your primary care provider.  Could using a biologic that helps the skin heal also reduce infection risk?

It appears so. Three studies found that adults who used dupilumab had fewer infections—including skin infections—compared to those using topical steroids alone, immunosuppressants, or JAK inhibitors for eczema. 

Tapering Biologic Treatments

While tapering biologic drugs may not provide additional benefits, it’s useful to know that regular injections may not be necessary long-term. Although the standard recommendation is dosing every 2–4 weeks (based on weight and age), real-world data from the Dutch registry shows that 83% of adult patients were able to extend their dosing intervals to 3–4 weeks.

Many children on dupilumab can stretch their injections to every 6 weeks and still maintain eczema relief. For more on tapering dupilumab, listen to our podcast featuring members of the Dutch research team.

Final Thoughts

It’s important to remember that not all effects are positive, the registry found that up to 15% of patients using a biologic experience eye inflammation and other less common side effects, see our previous blog for more information.  

Despite this, biologic drugs like dupilumab are changing the way we treat eczema—not just by managing skin symptoms, but by potentially improving related allergic conditions like asthma, hayfever, and food allergies. While more research is needed to fully understand these added benefits, early real-world data is promising.

If you are considering a biologic for your child, it’s worth talking to your healthcare provider about these broader effects. With better skin, fewer infections, and reduced allergic responses, biologics may offer more than just relief—they may offer a better quality of life.