First authorized treatment for vitiligo patients available in France

Patients suffering from vitiligo, an autoimmune disease that causes progressive depigmentation of the skin, will be able to benefit from the first authorized treatment reimbursed by health insurance, according to a decree published on Wednesday, January 31, in the Official Journal. This treatment is related to Opzelura cream developed by the American laboratory Insight Biosciences. “Nonsegmental vitiligo with facial involvement in adults and adolescents over 12 years of age”., according to the text. This treatment is already available in the United States, Germany and Austria.

Opzelura received a valid marketing authorization in the European Union in April. In October 2023, the High Authority for Health issued a favorable opinion for its reimbursement. The pharmaceutical company then turned to the health ministry and asked not to wait for price negotiations. An express route that results from a device called“Direct Access”. This is an experimental measure included in the social security financing law from 2022, which aims to make certain medicines reach French patients more quickly.

The French Vitiligo Association estimates that around 1 to 2% of the world’s population is affected by this highly visible chronic disease that can result. “Significant changes in quality of life, relationships with others and with oneself”. According to Insight Biosciences, which employs 2,500 staff, including 50 in France, more than a million people in France are affected by this pathology.