New agents targeting the different factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease appear to be very effective and result in excellent clinical outcomes, according to one expert. The currently available therapeutic modalities for acne include numerous treatment approaches such as antibacterial washes, topical creams, antibiotic pills, lasers, pulsed-light therapies, photodynamic therapy, and isotretinoin. “There are several new breakthroughs we are seeing in acne therapy today including medications that have novel mechanisms of action, more effective vehicles, as well as newly FDA-approved combination therapies. These new agents are proving to be very effective for all severities of acne and could herald a new age in acne therapy,” says Linda F. Stein Gold, M.D., director of clinical research and division head of the Department of Dermatology at Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, Mich. Two topical drugs in particular that are currently under development have a novel mechanism of action and also target the production of sebum in the skin; thereby potentially ameliorating the clinical symptoms of acne. The experimental drug known as SB204 (Novan Therapeutics) just completed a phase IIb clinical trial and has been shown to not only effectively decrease the sebum production in the skin but also reduce both the comedone and inflammatory lesions seen in acne. According to Dr. Stein Gold, this novel nitric oxide based agent appears to have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activity, reduces sebum production, and affects the keratinocytes, while avoiding resistances so commonly associated with standard antibiotic therapies. Read more at Dermatology Times.