New kind of acne cream will degrade androgen receptors in the skin.

Acne represents the most common skin disease, affecting 85% of teenagers, 42.5% of men and 50.9% of women between the ages of 20 and 30 years. Androgen (male hormone) associated with increased of acne development, and the role of hormones as a trigger of sebum production, sebaceous growth and differentiation are well known. However, despite the establishment of androgen activation pathways as an attractive therapeutic target, a topical anti-androgen based therapeutic has never been successfully developed. ASC has discovered and developed a series of active compounds referred as androgen receptor (AR) degradation enhancers (ARD enhancers). ARD enhancer exerts its function through reduction of AR and androgen function in sebaceous glands, which leads to the reduction of sebum secretion and the manifestation of acne.

Developed as a cream formulation for use in both men and women, ASC-J9 represents the first topical agent directed at modulating the effect of androgens through the AR. In a previous phase IIa clinical trial, ASC-J9 in cream formulation lowered lesion counts in moderate to severe acne, with the highest dose group demonstrating the largest percent reductions from baseline at week 12 in inflammatory lesion count and total lesion count. No side effects have been noted in either phase I or phase IIa clinical trials.