“Efficacy and safety of bimekizumab in moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa: A systematic review and meta-analysis of RCTs”

BACKGROUND: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory dermatosis with limited treatment options. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the evidence regarding the use of bimekizumab for treating moderate-to-severe HS, focusing on its clinical efficacy, safety, and outcomes across different clinical parameters. METHODS: We followed the "preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses" (PRISMA) guidelines and performed a systematic search for trials that compared bimekizumab with a placebo in patients with moderate-to-severe HS. A comprehensive search of PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL, and Embase was conducted up to April 2025. The primary outcome of efficacy was the percentage of patients who reached "HS Clinical Response 50" (HiSCR50), with secondary outcomes including HiSCR75, reduction in skin pain, and safety (evaluated by serious adverse events). Two reviewers independently assessed the risk of bias using the Cochrane risk-of-bias 2 tool. A fixed-effects model was used for meta-analysis. The study protocol was preregistered in PROSPERO (CRD420251025763). RESULTS: Three RCTs, encompassing 1218 participants, were included. Bimekizumab made it substantially more probable that the HiSCR50 would be reached (RR: 1.64; 95% CI [1.37-1.97]; P