How DUPIXENT works
DUPIXENT helps repair the skin by targeting a key source of Type 2 inflammation.1,2,13,14
Watch the video to see how it works.

Not meant to depict the results of
actual treatment with DUPIXENT.DUPIXENT is the first and only dual inhibitor
that works beneath the skin’s surface,
specifically targeting IL‑4 and IL‑13 signaling
to1,2,13:
- Reduce epidermal hyperplasia
- Modify lesional skin appearance
- Modulate genes related to epidermal pathology in atopic dermatitis
Atopic dermatitis, or AD, is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that leads to dry, scaly, itchy skin and eczematous lesions. Moderate-to-severe AD is a potentially debilitating disease. The pathophysiology of AD is complex and multifactorial, involving immune and epidermal barrier components influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Patients with AD have a mix of lesional and nonlesional skin.
Though normal looking, nonlesional skin has persistent underlying inflammation due to activation of the immune system. In patients with AD, there are 2 main converging pathophysiological features: increased skin inflammation coupled with abnormalities of epidermal barrier structures and function.
Antigens are recognized by resident cells such as Langerhans cells and innate lymphoid type 2 cells and are presented to T cells in the skin and in lymph nodes driving immune inflammatory response in AD. This results in the initiation of a type 2, including Th2, immune response, such as IL-4, IL-13, and IL-31 release of chemokines. Cytokines that were historically known as Th2 cytokines, such as IL-4 and IL-13, are also produced by other cell types, including ILC2s, eosinophils, mast cells, basophils, and macrophages and are thus now known as type 2 cytokines.
In the acute phase of lesion development there is an increase in T cells and continued release of the type 2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-13, along with other cytokines and chemokines that promote inflammation. As the lesion progresses due to chronic disease, there is persistent type 2, including Th2, signaling. IL-4 and IL-13 are cytokines involved in the development of AD and play roles in the regulation of the immune response. IL-4 and IL-13 signal mainly through 2 receptor complexes.
The Type I receptor, consisting of IL-4Rα and γ-chain subunits, only binds IL-4. The Type II receptor, consisting of IL-4Rα and IL-13Rα1 subunits, is the primary receptor for IL-13 but also binds IL-4. In AD, increased levels of IL-4 and IL-13 lead to amplified signaling of type 2 cytokines and chemokines and activation of subsequent proinflammatory signaling pathways.
Dupilumab is a human monoclonal antibody that binds specifically to the IL-4Rα subunit of the receptor complexes for IL-4 and IL-13, two type 2 cytokines that play roles in the pathogenesis of AD. Dupilumab inhibits IL-4 signaling via the Type I receptor and both IL-4 and IL-13 signaling through the Type II receptor resulting in decreased IL-4 and IL-13 cytokine-induced responses, including the release of proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and IgE.
DUPIXENT is NOT an immunosuppressant or a steroid and requires NO initial lab testing or ongoing lab monitoring (according to the Prescribing Information)1
- Immunosuppressive agents may inhibit multiple pathways2,13
DUPIXENT treats 3 indications driven in part by type 2 inflammation—demonstrating the important need for dual inhibition of IL-4 and IL-13 signaling1