Jason Hawkes, MD, MS: Looking Back on 2024, Ahead to 2025

As 2024 comes to a close, Jason Hawkes, MD, MS, spoke with Dermatology Times to reflect on the advancements in treatment over the past year, as well as to look at what lies ahead in 2025. Hawkes shared his enthusiasm for the steady progression towards personalized care through variant-specific trials, inclusion of under-represented disease states, and precision medication.

2024 Advancements

Hawkes highlighted 2024 as a pivotal year for dermatology, with significant progress in developing clinical trial programs for previously under-treated conditions such as alopecia areata, vitiligo, hidradenitis suppurativa, and chronic spontaneous urticaria. He noted the shift from off-label treatments to targeted trials that assess specific drugs for particular diseases. This advancement, he explains, not only enhances treatment options but also empowers physicians to offer more precise care. Additionally, he emphasized the growing versatility of medications like JAK inhibitors, which bridge the gap between broad-spectrum agents like cyclosporine and narrow biologic therapies, enabling their use across multiple dermatologic conditions.

Moving Towards Personalized Medicine

Hawkes underscored the increasing focus on disease subsets, such as hand dermatitis, genital psoriasis, and palmoplantar psoriasis, marking a step closer to personalized medicine. This precision allows physicians to tailor treatments based on clinical trial data for specific variants, a departure from the one-size-fits-all approach of the past. He expressed excitement about the potential for these targeted therapies to address unique patient needs, making dermatologic care more effective and individualized. This evolution not only expands treatment layers but also transforms patient interactions, fostering confidence in evidence-based therapies for overlooked conditions.

Exciting Innovations for 2025

Looking ahead, Hawkes is optimistic about advancements in biologics, particularly bispecific antibodies that simultaneously target multiple immune signals, such as IL-17A and TNF. These molecules could revolutionize treatments for psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, moving beyond symptom control to potential disease modification. He also highlights a surge of innovation in chronic urticaria research, with phase 1 and 2 trials exploring mechanisms like mast cell inhibition and depletion. These developments promise a deeper understanding of immune responses and pave the way for groundbreaking therapies, heralding an exciting future for dermatology.