(HealthDay)—Clascoterone cream, 1 percent, appears to be safe and effective for the treatment of acne, according to a study published online April 22 in JAMA Dermatology.

Adelaide Hebert, M.D., from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, and colleagues assessed the safety and efficacy of clascoterone , 1 percent, a novel topical androgen receptor inhibitor, in two phase 3 (including a total 1,440 patients) in which patients were randomly assigned to clascoterone cream, 1 percent, or a cream.

The researchers found that at week 12, the treatment success rates with clascoterone cream were 18.4 and 20.3 percent versus 9 and 6.5 percent with vehicle creams, respectively. In both intervention groups at week 12, there was a significant reduction in absolute noninflammatory lesions from baseline to −19.4 versus −13 and −10.8 with the vehicle cream, respectively. Similarly, there was a reduction in from baseline in the two intervention groups of −19.3 and −20 versus −15.5 and −12.6 with vehicle cream, respectively. The predominant adverse reaction was trace or mild erythema, but rates were low.

"Clascoterone cream, 1 percent, is under consideration as a first-in-class therapeutic agent for acne treatment, potentially providing an alternative to antibiotics and/or offering an adjunct treatment to existing combination acne therapies, including retinoids," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to , including Cassiopea, which manufactures clascoterone and funded the study.

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Journal information: JAMA Dermatology