Long-Term Bimekizumab Data Confirm Sustained Efficacy, Consistent Safety in Hidradenitis Suppurativa: Steven Daveluy, MD

This content was developed independently and is not endorsed by the American Academy of Dermatology.

Long-term data on bimekizumab (Bimzelx; UCB) for hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) continue to impress, with 3-year findings showing that the vast majority of patients on the biologic experienced no disease flares throughout the full treatment period.

Steven Daveluy, MD, a dermatologist at Wayne State University, shared highlights from the BE HEARD 1 (NCT04242446) and BE HEARD 2 (NCT04242498) study data at the 2026 American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting, underscoring both the durability of bimekizumab's efficacy and its reassuring safety profile over time.

Among the most striking findings, 86.1% of patients treated with bimekizumab were completely flare-free across the entire 3-year period. For a disease as burdensome as HS, characterized by painful draining tunnels, recurring abscesses, and a relentless impact on quality of life, that level of sustained disease control is clinically meaningful.

"Patients want to have most or all of their days without symptoms, without the pain that drives them crazy," Daveluy said, emphasizing that long-term flare freedom is precisely what patients need from a therapy.

While no head-to-head trials directly compare bimekizumab with other approved HS biologics, Daveluy pointed out that its long-term efficacy data compare favorably against those of secukinumab and adalimumab. Clinicians can prescribe bimekizumab with confidence, he said, knowing that for the vast majority of patients, durable disease control is achievable without the need to switch therapies down the line.

The data also reinforced the importance of the treatment window of opportunity in HS. Patients with Hurley Stage 2 disease and a shorter duration of illness showed better outcomes than those with Hurley Stage 3 disease who had lived with HS for a decade or more. The message, Daveluy stressed, is clear: don't delay. Starting patients on effective therapy early, ideally within a few years of diagnosis and before significant disease progression, translates to meaningfully better long-term results.

On the safety front, 3 years of follow-up revealed no new safety signals, with the profile remaining consistent from week 16 through year 1 and out to year 3. For a relatively newer biologic, that kind of longitudinal safety consistency is an important reassurance for both clinicians and patients considering long-term treatment commitments.