Trifarotene, sold under the brand name Aklief, is a

medication A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy (pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and re ...

for the topical treatment of

acne vulgaris Acne, also known as ''acne vulgaris'', is a long-term skin condition that occurs when dead skin cells and oil from the skin clog hair follicles. Typical features of the condition include blackheads or whiteheads, pimples, oily skin, and po ...

. It is a

retinoid The retinoids are a class of chemical compounds that are vitamers of vitamin A or are chemically related to it. Retinoids have found use in medicine where they regulate epithelial cell growth. Retinoids have many important functions throughout t ...

; more specifically, it is a fourth generation selective retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-γ

agonist An agonist is a chemical that activates a receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an antagonist blocks the action of the ago ...

. Trifarotene was granted

orphan drug An orphan drug is a pharmaceutical agent developed to treat medical conditions which, because they are so rare, would not be profitable to produce without government assistance. The conditions are referred to as orphan diseases. The assignment of ...

designation for the treatment of congenital ichthyosis by both the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...

(FDA) and the

European Medicines Agency The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) in charge of the evaluation and supervision of medicinal products. Prior to 2004, it was known as the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products or Euro ...

(EMA). It was approved for medical use in the United States in October 2019. In December 2019, its labelling and package leaflet text received a decentralised approval for 16 European countries.

Medical uses

In the United States, trifarotene is

indicated In medicine, an indication is a valid reason to use a certain test, medication, procedure, or surgery. There can be multiple indications to use a procedure or medication. An indication can commonly be confused with the term diagnosis. A diagnosis ...

for the topical treatment of acne vulgaris in people nine years of age and older. In both Canada and Australia, it is indicated for the topical treatment of acne vulgaris of the face and/or the trunk in people twelve years of age and older.

Society and culture

Legal status

Trifarotene was approved for medical use in the United States in October 2019, in Canada in November 2019, and in Australia in January 2021.

References

External links

* Retinoids Benzoic acids Pyrrolidines Orphan drugs Anti-acne preparations {{dermatologic-drug-stub