UCB Elevates Hidradenitis Suppurativa Awareness with Inaugural Patient and HCP Summit with Special Appearance by Dr. Sandra Lee (AKA "Dr. Pimple Popper")
The inaugural UCB Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) Summit will bring people living with HS, caregivers, advocacy leaders, and invited healthcare providers together on UCB's Atlanta campus to advance understanding of the HS treatment journey and unmet needs
The UCB HS Summit will amplify the Make HStory educational campaign, which offers resources and support for those living with hidradenitis suppurativa and treating healthcare providers
Renowned dermatologist and TV personality Dr. Sandra Lee will attend and speak at the Summit
ATLANTA, Aug. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- UCB, a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced its inaugural Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) Summit, which aims to provide a community forum for shared dialogue about HS, a dermatologic disease that remains both underdiagnosed and often misdiagnosed.1,2 Dr. Sandra Lee, a board-certified dermatologist known for her presence as a TV star and dermatology influencer (Dr. Pimple Popper), will attend and speak at the event.
Dr. Sandra Lee
The UCB HS Summit, taking place at UCB in Atlanta on August 17, 2024, will feature expert- and patient-led panel discussions focused on the HS journey and various physical and psychological aspects of living with the skin condition. The Summit amplifies UCB's Make HStory program, the company's disease-state education campaign that provides tools and resources for those living with HS and their dermatologists.
People living with HS, including Make HStory patient ambassadors ("HStory Makers"), caregivers, patient influencers, advocacy leaders, and invited healthcare providers are expected to attend. Influencers will be able to engage with the interactive elements of the Make HStory campaign.
Dr. Lee will moderate a session on honest and effective office interactions with Dr. Steve Daveluy, dermatologist at Wayne State University Department of Dermatology and HS Foundation board member, and Jasmine Espy, founder and CEO of The Association of Hidradenitis Suppurativa and Inflammatory Diseases (AHSID). They will discuss perspectives from dermatologists and HS experts, with the goal of helping to break down barriers and encourage meaningful conversations between people living with HS and their care team. Dr. Lee chose to support UCB efforts in raising awareness and educating patients and HCPs at the HS Summit after receiving an uptick in inquiries related to HS.
"In my practice, I've seen the significant impact HS can have on patients––not only physically, but also emotionally and on their quality of life overall," said Dr. Sandra Lee. "It's wonderful to see more attention on HS and companies like UCB invest in disease-state education initiatives like Make HStory and the HS Summit. The more we can shed light on this complex disease, the more we stand to help those living with HS, both those who have received a diagnosis and those who are not yet diagnosed."
HS is a chronic, complex, and debilitating inflammatory skin disease that impacts approximately one percent of the population in most studied countries, and large unmet needs remain.3,4 The average time from symptom onset to diagnosis is 10 years, with more than three misdiagnoses along the way, which can result in the disease progressing to more severe HS, particularly for those with aggressive progression.2
"At UCB, patients' experiences and the unmet needs that persist within patient communities guide our approach to scientific innovation. The UCB HS Summit and Make HStory disease-state education campaign serve as testament to UCB's ongoing commitment to improving the lives of millions of people living with inflammatory diseases like HS," said Camille Lee, Head of U.S. Immunology, UCB. "We are excited to feature an experienced dermatologist, Dr. Lee, who has a unique ability to engage with patients and dermatologists alike to empower people living with HS and to inspire more patients to have meaningful discussions with their physicians."
UCB is proud to contribute to advancing the understanding of HS and is committed to continuing its mission to address unmet needs for those living with this disease. To learn more about UCB's commitment to patients impacted by dermatologic diseases, visit UCB-USA.com/innovation/dermatology.
Notes to editors:
UCB HS Summit Agenda
Making HStory Today: HS Fireside Chat: The current state of HS care in the United States – Featuring Brent Hazelett, HS Foundation Chief Executive Officer; Brindley Brooks, Co-Founder & Executive Director, HS Connect; Dr. Jeffrey Stark, Head of Medical Immunology US, UCB; Rhonda Peebles, Head of Dermatology US, UCB
Making HStory Together: Honest & Effective Office Interactions: Perspectives from dermatologists and HS experts to help break down barriers and encourage meaningful conversations between people living with HS and their care team – FeaturingDr. Sandra Lee, Board-certified Dermatologist & Influencer (Dr. Pimple Popper); Dr. Steve Daveluy, Dermatologist at Wayne State University Department of Dermatology and HS Foundation Board Member; Jasmine Espy, Founder and CEO of The Association of Hidradenitis Suppurativa and Inflammatory Diseases (AHSID)
Making HStory in Care: Navigating the Treatment Landscape & Patient Journey for HS: Patient influencer and HCP discussion on HS management techniques and treatments, including having good conversations between patients and providers – Featuring Dr. Jenny Hsiao, Associate Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the University of Southern California and Member of the HS Foundation; HStory Maker Mario Otero
HStorical Narratives: HS & Mental Health: Patient influencer discussion on how HS has impacted their mental health – Featuring Brindley Brooks, Co-Founder & Executive Director, HS Connect; HStory Makers Cydney Carter, Joey Torre, Liz Tassey
Nourishing Change: Making HStory with Health & Wellness: Patient influencer discussion on how nutrition and lifestyle can play a role in HS management – Featuring HStory Maker LeiaAli; Logan Hawk, Marketing Specialist, UCB
About Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, recurring, painful, and debilitating inflammatory skin disease.3,4 The main symptoms are nodules, abscesses, and pus-discharging draining tunnels (channels leading out of the skin), which typically occur in the armpits, groin, and buttocks.3,4 People with HS experience flare-ups of the disease as well as severe pain, which can have a major impact on quality of life.3,4 HS most commonly develops in early adulthood and affects approximately one percent of the population in most studied countries.3,4 Approximately one-third of people with HS have a family history of HS, and lifestyle factors such as smoking and obesity can also play a crucial role in the clinical course of HS.3,4
The symptoms of pain, discharge, and scarring are not only a physical burden. People with HS also experience stigma: worrying about or directly experiencing negative attitudes and reactions from society in response to their symptoms.5 These feelings can lead to embarrassment, social isolation, low self-esteem, and sexual life impairment, and impact all areas of life, including interpersonal relationships, education, and work.2
About Make HStory Created in partnership with individuals living with HS and their dermatologists, UCB's Make HStory disease-education campaign features stories of those living with HS, informational videos, and interactive tools and resources for those seeking management options, daily care, and information about HS. Engaging both dermatologists and patients with information about HS helps ensure that key facts critical to improving diagnostics, care, and management can be incorporated in patient care, whether raised by a patient or their provider. By encouraging patient and dermatologist conversations, Make HStory aims to help increase understanding of the disease and empower patients to have conversations with their dermatologist about management options. To stay up to date on the latest HS resources, visit https://www.makehstory.com/ and follow Make HStory on Instagram at @MakeHStory and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/makehstory.
For further information, contact UCB: U.S. Communications Nicole Herga T +1 773.960.5349 email nicole.herga@ucb.com
About UCB
UCB, Brussels, Belgium (www.ucb.com) is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative medicines and solutions to transform the lives of people living with severe diseases of the immune system or of the central nervous system. With approximately 9,000 people in approximately 40 countries, the company generated revenue of €5.3 billion in 2023. UCB is listed on Euronext Brussels (symbol: UCB). Follow us on Twitter: @UCBUSA.
Forward looking statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements including, without limitation, statements containing the words "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "intends", "plans", "seeks", "estimates", "may", "will", "continue" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on current plans, estimates and beliefs of management. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including estimates of revenues, operating margins, capital expenditures, cash, other financial information, expected legal, arbitration, political, regulatory or clinical results or practices and other such estimates and results. By their nature, such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions which might cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of UCB, or industry results, to differ materially from those that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Important factors that could result in such differences include: changes in general economic, business and competitive conditions, the inability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals or to obtain them on acceptable terms or within expected timing, costs associated with research and development, changes in the prospects for products in the pipeline or under development by UCB, effects of future judicial decisions or governmental investigations, safety, quality, data integrity or manufacturing issues; potential or actual data security and data privacy breaches, or disruptions of our information technology systems, product liability claims, challenges to patent protection for products or product candidates, competition from other products including biosimilars, changes in laws or regulations, exchange rate fluctuations, changes or uncertainties in tax laws or the administration of such laws, and hiring and retention of its employees. There is no guarantee that new product candidates will be discovered or identified in the pipeline, will progress to product approval or that new indications for existing products will be developed and approved. Movement from concept to commercial product is uncertain; preclinical results do not guarantee safety and efficacy of product candidates in humans. So far, the complexity of the human body cannot be reproduced in computer models, cell culture systems or animal models. The length of the timing to complete clinical trials and to get regulatory approval for product marketing has varied in the past and UCB expects similar unpredictability going forward. Products or potential products, which are the subject of partnerships, joint ventures or licensing collaborations may be subject to differences disputes between the partners or may prove to be not as safe, effective or commercially successful as UCB may have believed at the start of such partnership. UCB's efforts to acquire other products or companies and to integrate the operations of such acquired companies may not be as successful as UCB may have believed at the moment of acquisition. Also, UCB or others could discover safety, side effects or manufacturing problems with its products and/or devices after they are marketed. The discovery of significant problems with a product similar to one of UCB's products that implicate an entire class of products may have a material adverse effect on sales of the entire class of affected products. Moreover, sales may be impacted by international and domestic trends toward managed care and health care cost containment, including pricing pressure, political and public scrutiny, customer and prescriber patterns or practices, and the reimbursement policies imposed by third-party payers as well as legislation affecting biopharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement activities and outcomes. Finally, a breakdown, cyberattack or information security breach could compromise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of UCB's data and systems.
Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on any of such forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labelling in any market, or at any particular time, nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be or will continue to be commercially successful in the future.
UCB is providing this information, including forward-looking statements, only as of the date of this press release. UCB expressly disclaims any duty to update any information contained in this press release, either to confirm the actual results or to report or reflect any change in its forward-looking statements with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, unless such statement is required pursuant to applicable laws and regulations.
Additionally, information contained in this document shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.
References
1 Ingram JR. The epidemiology of hidradenitis suppurativa. Br J Dermatol. 2020 Dec;183(6):990-998. doi: 10.1111/bjd.19435. Epub 2020 Sep 3. PMID: 32880911. 2 Kokolakis G, Wolk K, Schneider-Burrus S, et al. Delayed Diagnosis of Hidradenitis Suppurativa and Its Effect on Patients and Healthcare System. Dermatology. 2020;236:421–430. 3 Jemec GBE. Clinical practice. Hidradenitis suppurativa. N Engl J Med. 2012;366(2):158-164. 4 Sabat R, Jemec GBE, Matusiak L, et al. Hidradenitis suppurativa. Nat Rev Dis Primers. 2020;6(1):18. 5 Koumaki D, Efthymiou O, Bozi E, et al. Perspectives on Perceived Stigma And Self-Stigma In Patients With Hidradenitis Suppurativa. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2019;12:785–90.
