Commemorating Dermatology Times’ 45th Anniversary

As Dermatology Times celebrates its 45th anniversary, we invite you to join us on a journey through the most impactful milestones in dermatology’s history. Over the decades, advancements in clinical practices, groundbreaking treatments, and innovative technologies have revolutionized the specialty, benefiting both practitioners and patients alike. In this special edition, we gain invaluable insights from our esteemed editorial advisory board on the influential people, pivotal drugs, and cutting-edge technologies that have shaped dermatology.

Hippocrates | Image Credit: © acrogame - stock.adobe.com

460-370 BC

Hippocrates, often called the father of modern medicine, proposes classifying skin diseases and treated them with honey, tar, and fats, based on humoral theory.¹

1836

Henry Daggett Bulkley, MD, the first US dermatologist, opened the Broome Street Infirmary for Diseases of the Skin in New York, New York.²

1865

Alexander John Balmanno Squire used photography for the first time to document skin diseases.¹

1893

Niels Ryberg Finsen pioneered the use of UV radiation for treating lupus vulgaris, winning the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1903.¹

Dr Frederic Edward Mohs | Image Credit: American College of Mohs Surgery

1936

Frederic Edward Mohs develops the Mohs micrographic surgery technique and uses it for the first time on a patient with squamous cell cancer of the lower lip.³

1938

The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) was founded; today, it is headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois and has grown to more than 20,000 members.⁴

1952

Topical corticosteroid (hydrocortisone) was first developed; it is used in treating inflammation and itching due to various skin conditions.⁵

1979

The first issue of Dermatology Times is published to o er clinical insights for a growing health care specialty.

1981

An article in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology points out the growth of academic dermatologists in the US from 381 to 511 from 1976 to 1980.⁶

1982

The FDA approves PUVA (psoralen and UV-A) for the treatment of psoriasis and isotretinoin (Accutane) for the treatment of severe acne.^7-8

1984

The FDA approves aciclovir (Zovirax) for the treatment of genital herpes simplex infection.⁹

1986

Etretinate (Tegison) is approved for the treatment of psoriasis and used off-label for the treatment of generalized pustular psoriasis and palmar-plantar pustular psoriasis.¹⁰

1988

Minoxidil (Rogaine) is FDA-approved for treating hair loss.¹¹ Darrell S. Rigel, MD, attends the AAD Annual Meeting and presents 2 new regions identified with populations at high risk for melanoma—US east and west coastlines and areas of substantial elevation.¹²

Image Credit: © Destina - stock.adobe.com

1991

Dermatology Times featured practice management pearls on the introduction of computers to reduce paperwork and increase efficiency.

1992

One study shows onabotulinumtoxinA (Botox) improves glabellar frown lines and was approved in 2002.¹³Tattoo removals using the ruby laser grow in popularity.¹⁴ Teledermatology begins to consult and military personnel on missions.¹⁵

Image Credit: © natatravel - stock.adobe.com

1993

The Nd:YAG laser is approved to treat pigmented lesions.¹⁶ A new nationwide database provides access to information on sexually transmitted diseases.¹⁷

1994

Dermatologists’ growing role in the management of AIDS was a hot topic.¹⁸ Congress allocated $1.2 million for the promotion of the AAD’s melanoma and skin cancer education program.¹⁹ The alexandrite laser for tattoo removal and copper bromide laser are approved for vascular and pigmented lesions.^20-21

1999

Imiquimod (Aldara) is approved to treat external genital warts, and later in 2004 for actinic keratosis and superficial basal cell carcinoma.²²

2000

Tacrolimus (Protopic) is approved to treat moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.²³ Botulinum toxin type B (Myobloc) is approved for the treatment of cervical dystonia, later used off-label for cosmetic purposes.²⁴

2001

Pimecrolimus (Elidel) is approved for the treatment of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis.²⁵

2003

Hyaluronic acid fillers (Restylane) gain FDA approval for facial wrinkles and folds.²⁶

2004

Poly-L-lactic acid (Sculptra) is approved for lipoatrophy in patients with HIV.²⁷

2008

The FDA approves adalimumab (Humira) for the treatment of moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis.²⁸

2010

Collagenase clostridium histolyticum (Xiaflex) is approved for the treatment of Dupuytren contracture, and later for Peyronie disease.²⁹

2011

Vemurafenib is approved by the FDA for metastatic and unresectable melanomas.³⁰

2012

The FDA approves tazarotene (Tazorac) for the treatment of acne vulgaris in patients 12 years and older and vismodegib (Erivedge) for advanced and metastatic basal cell carcinoma.^31-32

2013

Ustekinumab (Stelara) is FDA-approved for adults with active psoriatic arthritis.³³

2014

The FDA approves apremilast (Otezla) for adults with active psoriatic arthritis and efinaconazole (Jublia) for onychomycosis.^34-35

2015

Secukinumab (Cosentyx) is approved for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.³⁶

2016

Crisaborole (Eucrisa) is FDA-approved for atopic dermatitis, and ixekizumab (Taltz) is also approved for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults.^37-38

2017

The FDA approves brodalumab (Siliq) for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, tofacitinib (Xeljanz) for psoriatic arthritis, and dupilumab (Dupixent) for moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.^39-41

2018

The FDA approves sarecycline hydrochloride (Seysara) for nonnodular acne vulgaris and tildrakizumab (Ilumya) for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.^42-43

2019

Biosimilars in dermatology continue to garner interest 10 years after the first was approved, as they offer equally effective, safe, and cost-effective options for patients.⁴⁴ Trifarotene (Aklief) was approved for acne vulgaris treatment.⁴⁵

2020

The FDA approves topical minocycline foam for rosacea lesions, collagenase clostridium histolyticum-aaes for moderate to severe cellulite in the buttocks, clascoterone cream 1% (Winlevi) for moderate to severe hormonal acne, tirbanibulin (Klisyri) for actinic keratosis, and adapalene gel 0.3% was launched in the US for acne vulgaris.^46-50

2021

Research on the connections between skin diseases and COVID-19 begins to emerge, indicating that patients with inflammatory skin conditions and associated comorbidities are at increased risk for the virus.⁵¹

2022

The FDA approved abrocitinib (Cibinqo) for the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis, tapinarof (Vtama) for the treatment of plaque psoriasis in adults, spesolimab (Spevigo) for the treatment of generalized pustular psoriasis, and ruxolitinib cream (Opzelura) for the treatment of nonsegmental vitiligo.^52-55

2023

The FDA approves numerous adalimumab biosimilars, beremagene geperpavec (Vyjuvek) for dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, bimekizumab (Bimzelx) for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, Cantharidin (YCanth) to treat mulluscum contagiosum, nivolumab (Opdivo) for completely resected stage IIB or IIC melanoma, ritlecitinib (Litfulo) for patients 12 and up with severe alopecia areata, roflumilast cream 0.3% for children 6 to 11 years old with plaque psoriasis, secukinumab (Cosentyx) for moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa, tralokinumab (Adbry) for moderate to severe atopic dermatitis in patients 12 and older, and roflumilast foam 0.3% (Zoryve) for seborrheic dermatitis. Clindamycin phosphate 1.2%, adapalene 0.15%, benzoyl peroxide 3.1%; gel (Cabtreo) was also approved for acne.⁵⁶

In aesthetics, Galderma’s Restylane Eyelight is approved for the treatment of undereye hollows in adults older than 21 years. Skinvive by Juvéderm is approved for improving skin smoothness in adults 21 years and older.⁵⁶

2024 Berdazimer gel 10.3% (Zelsuvmi) is approved for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum. Tralokinumab’s autoinjector is also approved for adults with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.^57-58

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