Published on January 20, 2006

National Jewish Statement on Topical Immune Modulators

Physicians and researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center have studied and used the topical immune modulators tacrolimus (Protopic®) and pimecrolimus (Elidel®) for several years. They believe these products are safe and offer a lower chance of harmful side effects than do other common treatments for atopic dermatitis, such as topical and oral steroids, ultraviolet light, and more powerful immune suppressants.

They have reviewed data from both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and from Novartis. They see no reason to change their opinions about these products. As a result, they do not intend to change their prescribing patterns for this class of medications.

Do National Jewish physicians prescribe TIMs for children under the age of 2?

Yes, when appropriate.

What about FDA concerns regarding cancer and infections?

Review of the data does not show any definite association and is speculative.