For parents of young children with moderate to severe eczema, the list of prescription options is short. Only one biologic is currently approved for kids under 12, but new research suggests a second may not be far behind.
The drug in question is lebrikizumab, an injectable already approved for patients 12 and older as Ebglyss. At the 2026 Society for Pediatric Dermatology Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, San Diego pediatric dermatologist Lawrence Eichenfield, MD, professor of dermatology and pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego, and chief of pediatric dermatology at Rady Children’s Hospital, shared new phase 3 results testing it in infants, children and teens ages 6 months to 17 years, as reported by Dermatology Times.
What the Trial Found
Researchers randomly assigned kids two to one to receive either lebrikizumab or a placebo. Out of ethical consideration for such young patients, every child also used a topical treatment such as a corticosteroid or calcineurin inhibitor after an initial run-in period, so no one spent the 16 weeks on placebo alone.
By the end of the study, about half of the children on lebrikizumab had clear or almost-clear skin, versus roughly 15 percent in the placebo-plus-topical-treatment group. Severity scores told a similar story, with 62.6 percent of treated kids improving by at least 75 percent (versus just over 20 percent in the comparison group).
Even at the higher thresholds, lebrikizumab came out ahead. More than a third of treated kids reached a 90 percent improvement, compared with fewer than 12 percent in the comparison group, and nearly 14 percent saw their skin clear completely.
Relief From the Itch
Caregivers noticed a difference, too. About 42 percent of younger children showed meaningfully less scratching, and among older kids and teens, roughly a third saw at least a 4-point drop on a standard worst-itch rating scale.
According to Eichenfield, the treatment’s safety profile was favorable throughout the study, with quality-of-life measures improving alongside the skin results.
What This Means for Your Family
Don’t expect to see it at your child’s next appointment just yet. Lebrikizumab still isn’t approved for kids under 12, and these results will need to go through regulatory review first. If it’s approved, it would join dupilumab (Dupixent), currently the only biologic cleared for that age group. Because lebrikizumab selectively blocks IL-13, it would give parents and their child’s dermatologist another targeted option to try.
In the meantime, if your child’s eczema still isn’t under control, it’s worth bringing these eczema treatment questions dermatologists hear most to your next visit.
