Can Pemphigus Vulgaris Be Treated with a Subcutaneous Injection?

In a single-case report, researchers describe a patient who achieved complete remission of disease off therapy after treatment with subcutaneous veltuzumab.

Pemphigus vulgaris has been effectively treated with intravenous rituximab. Veltuzumab, a second-generation humanized anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody that can be administered intravenously or subcutaneously, has been under development for treatment of B-cell lymphoma and autoimmune conditions.

These authors described a patient with a 20-plus–year history of active pemphigus vulgaris who received veltuzumab on a compassionate-use basis. She had been treated with oral prednisone and mycophenolate mofetil for many years; two separate infusions of rituximab had resulted in incomplete remission, and a third had elicited no response. She achieved complete remission, with cessation of prednisone and mycophenolate, after two subcutaneous doses of velt…

Reviewing Author

Jeffrey P. Callen, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory board XOMA; Eli Lilly; Celgene

Equity Various trust accounts

Editorial boards JAMA Dermatology; UpToDate

Leadership positions in professional societies Association of Professors of Dermatology (President-Elect)