- Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a long-term inflammatory skin disease that causes painful abscesses, tunnels under the skin and scarring. The Hurley system sorts it into stages 1 to 3 by scarring and tunnels, but it does not measure inflammation, so reviewers say it is a surgical staging tool rather than a guide to medical treatment (Hurley staging training article; assessment-tools review).
- Diagnosis is often late. Reviews we saw describe delays of several years, commonly 7 to 10 years (Greek cohort systematic review, 2024; Decades Delayed review). We could not open the full text of the systematic review, so its pooled figures are not reported here.
- The Cochrane review of HS treatments found little reliable evidence for antibiotics. The trials were small and underpowered (Cochrane summary, JMIR Dermatology 2022). We could not verify a trial called "STOP" for HS antibiotics.
- NICE recommends adalimumab for NHS use. In two 12-week trials, HiSCR (a 50% or greater fall in abscesses and nodules) was 41.8% vs 26.0% and 58.9% vs 27.6% against placebo. Both trials were funded by AbbVie, which makes adalimumab (Kimball et al., NEJM 2016; NICE TA392).
- Secukinumab is a second-line NHS option. NICE recommends it only when adalimumab is unsuitable, has not worked or has stopped working (NICE TA935, December 2023). Its pivotal trials were run by Novartis (SUNSHINE and SUNRISE, Lancet 2023).
- Bimekizumab has two positive trials, but NICE could not recommend it. UCB withdrew from the appraisal, so there is no NHS recommendation (NICE TA1028, terminated January 2025; BE HEARD trials, Lancet 2024).
- Money trail: All three biologic evidence bases come from drug-maker pivotal trials, run by AbbVie (adalimumab), Novartis (secukinumab) and UCB (bimekizumab). Each company's own staff or affiliations appear among the authors or sponsor statements. The US patient group has pharmaceutical sponsors. Funding is not proof that a result is wrong, but it means the efficacy numbers come from the companies that sell the drugs.
Independent evidence review · Prescription medicine
Biologic drugs that block TNF or IL-17 reduce abscess and nodule counts in moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa, and NICE funds some of them on the NHS. But the efficacy data come almost entirely from drug-maker trials, and the independent evidence for antibiotics is weak. Our confidence: moderate that adalimumab and secukinumab reduce lesion counts over 12 to 52 weeks; low that one biologic beats another; low for any antibiotic benefit; low for claims that weight loss or quitting smoking treats HS.
Table of contents
- Evidence summary
- What hidradenitis suppurativa is, and how it is staged
- How it works
- What works and what does not
- Benefits by claim
- Risks and all side effects
- All interactions
- Who should avoid these treatments
- Doses studied and how they are given
- Follow the money: who makes it and who funded the evidence
- Related research
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources and funding notes
Evidence summary
| Claim | Evidence | Source | Funding / conflict | Strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adalimumab reduces HS activity vs placebo at week 12 | Two placebo-controlled trials. HiSCR at week 12: 41.8% vs 26.0% (PIONEER 1, P=0.003) and 58.9% vs 27.6% (PIONEER 2, P<0.001). Full figures were taken from search-indexed summaries. | Kimball et al., NEJM 2016 | Funded by AbbVie, which makes adalimumab. Several authors were AbbVie employees. | Moderate |
| Adalimumab is available on the NHS for HS not controlled by conventional systemic treatment | NICE recommends adalimumab as an option for adults with active moderate to severe HS who have not responded to conventional systemic therapy. Published 22 June 2016. | NICE TA392 | Public body. Appraisal relies on manufacturer evidence submissions. | Strong (for access) |
| Secukinumab reduces HS activity over 52 weeks | SUNSHINE and SUNRISE, two identical placebo-controlled trials. HiSCR at week 52 on the every-2-week dose was about 56% (SUNSHINE) and 65% (SUNRISE), per the paper's summary. | Lancet 2023 | Sponsored by Novartis. Several authors have Novartis affiliations. | Moderate |
| Secukinumab is a second-line NHS option | Recommended only when adalimumab is unsuitable, has not worked or has stopped working. Response reviewed after 16 weeks. Published 6 December 2023. | NICE TA935 | Public body. NHS access uses a discount scheme and a complex patient access scheme set by Novartis. | Strong (for access) |
| Bimekizumab reduces HS activity vs placebo | BE HEARD 1 and BE HEARD 2, two identical 48-week trials (505 and 509 patients). Met the week-16 HiSCR50 primary endpoint against placebo in both trials. Per-trial percentages were not verified, so none are quoted. | Lancet 2024; Dermatology Times summary | Sponsored by UCB, which describes the results as the basis for global regulatory submissions. | Moderate |
| Bimekizumab is available on the NHS for HS | NICE could not make a recommendation because UCB withdrew from the appraisal. Terminated 15 January 2025. | NICE TA1028 | Decision followed the company's withdrawal, not a finding on efficacy. | No NHS recommendation |
| Antibiotics help HS | The Cochrane review found little reliable evidence. Trials were small, and other treatments were underpowered. A "STOP" antibiotic trial could not be verified. | Cochrane summary (2022) | Review authors declared some ties, including a lead author who was a local investigator on an AbbVie-sponsored observational study. | Insufficient |
| Oral clindamycin plus rifampicin works | Prospective and retrospective case series only. A 2013 study states no randomised trial of the combination had been done. We found none in our searches. | 116-patient series (PubMed 19590173); prospective study (PubMed 27753139) | Academic series. Funding statements not checked. | Insufficient |
| Diagnosis is delayed by years | Reviews report average delays of about 7 to 10 years. Some studies link longer delay to earlier onset and to comorbidities. | Greek cohort review (2024) | Funding not verified. | Moderate (observational) |
| Smoking and obesity are linked to HS | A 2024 meta-analysis of 23 studies found an odds ratio of 3.10 for smoking and 2.48 for obesity. Heterogeneity was very high. | Meta-analysis (PMC11393007) | Funding not verified. | Moderate (association only) |
| Quitting smoking or losing weight improves HS | A 2020 systematic review found only observational studies. No randomised trials were found. A Korean cohort on smoking cessation and HS development (finding not confirmed in our checks). | Sivanand et al. 2020; Korean cohort (PubMed 39167402) | Korean cohort uses national insurance data. Funding not verified. | Insufficient (causation) |
| Wide surgical excision lowers recurrence | Recurrence figures from a 2025 surgical review could not be verified, so none are quoted. | No verified source | Funding not verified. | Moderate (retrospective) |
| Biologics raise the risk of serious infection | NHS and specialist guidance say immune-suppressing drugs carry infection risks and are used only in specialist settings. Fungal infection rates on secukinumab could not be verified, so none are quoted. | NHS; Lancet commentary 2023 | No adverse-event figures are quoted from the sponsor-run trials. | Risk |
Independent evidence and credibility scorecard
Independence tiers: 1 = regulator, government body or public health agency; 2 = academic or Cochrane team, or a source with declared ties that could tilt it; 3 = professional society or patient group with pharmaceutical sponsors; 4 = manufacturer-sponsored or manufacturer-authored. Credibility runs from A (highest) to D. Where we could not open a funding statement, we say so in the row and give a provisional tier.
| Source | Who funds it | Country | Independence tier (1–4) | Credibility (A–D) | Why it would tell the truth / residual bias |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NICE technology appraisals TA392, TA935, TA1028 | UK public funding. Appraisals rely on evidence submitted by the drug company. | UK | 1 | A− | A statutory body with no product to sell, and its decisions are public. It can only judge the evidence companies choose to submit, and cost limits shape the outcome. |
| NHS patient information page | NHS England (public) | UK | 1 | A | Public health remit with no product. It is a general guide, not a technical review, so it does not weigh trial quality. |
| Cochrane review of HS interventions (Ingram et al.), as summarised in a 2022 JMIR Dermatology article | Cochrane Skin review group. The review's own sources-of-support statement was not opened. | UK and international authors | 2 | B | Systematic methods and public reporting. Its lead author, John Ingram, declared that he was a local investigator on an AbbVie-sponsored observational study.The trials it pooled were small, so its conclusions are mostly "insufficient evidence". |
| Korean national insurance cohort on smoking and HS (PubMed 39167402) | Korean national health insurance data. Study funding not verified. | South Korea | 2 | B− | Large national records, but observational. Confounding and reverse causation (disease may drive smoking) cannot be ruled out. |
| Hurley staging training article (Skin Appendage Disorders, 2024) | Funding not verified. The 1989 original chapter was not available to us. | Not verified | 2 | B− | The staging system was originally a surgical guide. Reviews we read say it captures scarring and tunnels but not inflammation. |
| Greek cohort diagnostic-delay review (2024) | Funding not verified. Only the introduction was readable to us. | Greece | 2 | B− | Academic review and new cohort data. Its pooled figures could not be checked, so the rating is provisional. |
| EADV S2k guideline, HS Part 2: Treatment (Zouboulis et al., 2024) | European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, a professional society. Funding and author disclosures not verified. | Europe (authors' country not verified) | 3 | B | Expert consensus with a clinical purpose, but guideline authors often hold industry ties and the treatment options it ranks are the drugs those companies sell. Provisional tier pending disclosure check. |
| Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation (US patient group) | Donations and grants, plus pharmaceutical sponsors. AbbVie was described as its first pharmaceutical partner. UCB was a Platinum sponsor of its 2026 symposium. No donor breakdown was found. | US | 3 | C | Patient-centred mission and real patient needs. But sponsorship from drug makers gives an interest in how the treatments are presented. Its own tax filings would show the split. |
| Kimball et al., PIONEER 1 and 2 (NEJM 2016) | AbbVie (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01468207 and NCT01468233). Several authors were AbbVie employees. | US (AbbVie, North Chicago) | 4 | C+ | Registered, placebo-controlled phase 3 trials with published results, which lifts credibility. But the sponsor designed the trials, employees co-wrote the paper, and the primary endpoint is at week 12. |
| SUNSHINE and SUNRISE trials (secukinumab, Lancet 2023) | Novartis. Several authors had Novartis affiliations. | Switzerland (Novartis, Basel), with trial sites in 40 countries | 4 | C+ | Two identical trials give replication and a 52-week result. Still sponsor-designed. |
| BE HEARD 1 and 2 (bimekizumab, Lancet 2024) | UCB, which says the trials support its global regulatory submissions (UCB press release). | Belgium (UCB, Brussels) | 4 | C+ | Two identical 48-week trials with 505 and 509 patients give a solid base. Sponsor-run, and comparisons with secukinumab trials are complicated by different rules for counting antibiotic use as non-response. |
Note on clustering: the drug-maker trials come from the companies' home countries (the US, Switzerland and Belgium). The public-body and guideline evidence clusters in the UK and Europe. The only non-UK, non-European cohort in the table is the Korean record study. Convergence is strongest where NICE, NHS and the Cochrane summary agree that the evidence base is limited for anything beyond biologics.
What hidradenitis suppurativa is, and how it is staged
HS is a long-term disease of the skin folds that contain hair follicles and sweat glands. It is most often found in the groin, buttocks, under the breasts and in the armpits. It causes painful lumps, abscesses that leak pus, sinus tracts under the skin and scarring. The NHS says it is thought to affect about 1 in 100 people, and that more women than men have it (NHS).
Hurley stages
The Hurley system describes anatomy. Stage 1 is single or multiple abscesses without tunnels or scarring. Stage 2 is recurrent abscesses with tunnels and scarring, separated by normal skin. Stage 3 is diffuse involvement with interconnected tunnels across an area (Hurley staging review). Hurley was designed to guide surgery in one anatomical region, according to reviews we read. Reviews note that it leaves out inflammation, so it is weak for tracking whether a medicine is working. A refined version, published in 2016, subdivides stages 1 and 2 by inflammation. Some reviews recommend the dynamic IHS4 score for monitoring (assessment-tools review).
The European guideline now separates an inflammatory form, assessed with IHS4 and graded mild, moderate or severe, from a mainly non-inflammatory form that is staged by Hurley (EADV treatment guideline summary).
How it works
HS is an inflammatory disease. The NHS says the exact cause is unknown, and that the disease forms near hair follicles and sweat glands (NHS). Two classes of biologic drugs target this response. Adalimumab blocks TNF, a central inflammatory signal. Secukinumab and bimekizumab block IL-17, a related signal. Our searches did not turn up independent mechanism studies that show which pathway matters most in patients, so the drug choice rests on trial results rather than mechanism.
- Proven in patients: the biologics reduce lesion counts in placebo-controlled trials (see the table above).
- Not proven: that the drugs stop scarring or tunnel formation in the long term. The trials measured lesion counts and response rates over 12 to 52 weeks.
- Infection: because the drugs dampen immune responses, the NHS says they carry infection risks (NHS).
What works and what does not
| Claimed benefit | Verdict | Evidence | Key caveat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reduces lesion counts (adalimumab) | WORKS | Two placebo-controlled trials (NEJM 2016) | Sponsor-run; primary endpoint at week 12 |
| Reduces lesion counts (secukinumab) | WORKS | Two identical 52-week trials (Lancet 2023) | Sponsor-run; sponsor-designed trial programme |
| Reduces lesion counts (bimekizumab) | WORKS | Two identical 48-week trials (Lancet 2024) | Sponsor-run; no NHS recommendation |
| Antibiotics heal HS | INSUFFICIENT | Cochrane: little reliable evidence (2022 summary) | Trials are small and short |
| Oral clindamycin plus rifampicin | MIXED | Case series only (PubMed 19590173) | No randomised trial found |
| Surgery cures HS | INSUFFICIENT | No verified recurrence figure | Outcome data not verified |
| Quitting smoking improves HS | INSUFFICIENT | Observational only (Sivanand 2020) | Cannot separate cause from association |
| Weight loss improves HS | INSUFFICIENT | Observational only (Sivanand 2020) | Reverse causation is possible |
Benefits by claim
Do adalimumab and secukinumab work?
In the PIONEER trials, adalimumab gave a HiSCR at week 12 of 41.8% vs 26.0% on placebo in trial 1 (P=0.003), and 58.9% vs 27.6% in trial 2 (P<0.001) (Kimball et al., NEJM 2016). HiSCR is a 50% or greater fall in abscesses and inflammatory nodules, with no rise in abscesses or draining tunnels. In plain terms, that is about 16 extra responders per 100 patients in trial 1 and about 31 per 100 in trial 2, compared with placebo. The trials were sponsored by AbbVie.
In the SUNSHINE and SUNRISE trials, secukinumab every 2 weeks gave a HiSCR of about 56% (SUNSHINE) and 65% (SUNRISE) at week 52. The every-4-week dose gave similar results. The trials were run by Novartis (Lancet 2023).
Does bimekizumab work, and is it on the NHS?
BE HEARD 1 and 2 were identical 48-week trials. In both trials the every-2-week arm met the week-16 HiSCR50 primary endpoint against placebo, and responses were maintained to week 48 (Dermatology Times summary of the Lancet paper). The per-trial percentages could not be verified, so none are quoted. We did not find a head-to-head trial against secukinumab, so these trials do not show that bimekizumab is better. NICE could not recommend bimekizumab because UCB withdrew from the appraisal (NICE TA1028). That is a commercial outcome, not a verdict on the trial data.
Do antibiotics help?
Antibiotics are the usual first step for many people with HS, but the independent evidence is thin. The Cochrane review found little reliable evidence for antibiotics. Its included trials were small and underpowered (Cochrane summary). The oral clindamycin and rifampicin combination is supported by case series. A 116-patient series reported retrospectively (PubMed 19590173), and a prospective study reported on a smaller group with one-year follow-up (PubMed 27753139). We did not find a randomised trial of the combination. A trial called "STOP" for HS antibiotics could not be verified.
Does surgery help?
We could not verify the recurrence figures from a 2025 systematic review of surgery, so this article does not quote them.
Do smoking and weight matter?
A 2024 meta-analysis pooled 23 studies and reported an odds ratio of 3.10 for smoking and 2.48 for obesity in people with HS. The heterogeneity was very high, so the numbers should be read as a rough signal (meta-analysis). A Korean cohort (Kim et al., JAMA Dermatology 2024, PubMed 39167402) is titled as a study of smoking cessation and HS development. We could not confirm its restart-versus-continue finding from the abstract, so we do not rely on it. The weight-loss and diet review found only observational studies, with all showing lower HS severity after interventions, but it cannot show that weight loss causes improvement (Sivanand et al. 2020). The 2019 AAFP rapid review rated smoking cessation and weight loss as worth encouraging, on lower-quality cohort evidence (AAFP 2019).
Are supplements or diets a treatment?
We did not find randomised trials of supplements for HS in our searches. The dietary review cited above found only observational studies. We do not recommend any supplement for HS.
Risks and all side effects
Side effects in the trials
- Bimekizumab: we could not verify serious adverse event rates from the trial papers, so none are quoted.
- Secukinumab: we could not verify fungal infection rates from the trial data, so none are quoted.
- Adalimumab: we did not verify its full adverse-event profile from the NEJM paper. The pivotal trials were run by the manufacturer.
Other points
Because the trial programmes are sponsor-run, long-term safety data depend heavily on company post-marketing studies. We could not verify any independent long-term safety registry for these three biologics in the sources we opened. The clinician should review any new symptoms, such as persistent fever or a new skin infection, against the trial safety data.
All interactions
We did not find a full independent interaction review for these biologics. The main concern in the sources we read is additive immune suppression. Biologics also interact with live vaccines and with other immune-suppressing drugs, but we did not verify the exact guidance. Ask your prescriber or pharmacist to check your full list of medicines before starting a biologic.
Who should avoid these treatments
We could not verify pregnancy, breastfeeding or children's guidance from the sources we opened. Depression and anxiety are common in people with HS (Leeds Teaching Hospitals). We do not give personal instructions. Anyone with a history of serious infection, or who is planning pregnancy, should discuss the options with a specialist before treatment.
Doses studied and how they are given
Doses in the trials, for information only and not as advice:
- Adalimumab (PIONEER): 160 mg at week 0, 80 mg at week 2, then 40 mg weekly from week 4 (NEJM 2016). A Lincolnshire NHS local formulary document says response is reviewed at 12 weeks (Lincolnshire formulary).
- Secukinumab (SUNSHINE and SUNRISE): 300 mg every 2 weeks, or every 4 weeks (Lancet 2023). NICE reviews response after 16 weeks (NICE TA935).
- Bimekizumab (BE HEARD): 320 mg every 2 weeks to week 16, then every 4 weeks to week 48 in one arm (Dermatology Times summary).
Adalimumab biosimilars are covered by the NICE adalimumab recommendation where they have a marketing authorisation for HS (NICE TA392). We did not verify current NHS prices for any of these drugs. Biologics are given by injection under specialist supervision. The Leeds page lists the options as subcutaneous injections (adalimumab, secukinumab, bimekizumab), with infliximab given by drip (Leeds Teaching Hospitals).
Follow the money: who makes it and who funded the evidence
Who makes the drugs
- Adalimumab (Humira): AbbVie, a US drug company. Its corporate offices are at North Chicago, Illinois, according to its SEC filing (AbbVie 10-K, FY2025).
- Secukinumab (Cosentyx): Novartis, a Swiss drug company. Its global headquarters is the Novartis Campus in Basel (Novartis). NICE records a discount scheme and a complex patient access scheme for HS. Under the complex scheme, the every-2-week dose is supplied at the cost of the every-4-week dose (NICE TA935).
- Bimekizumab (Bimzelx): UCB, a Belgian biopharma company headquartered in Brussels, with US operations based in Atlanta (UCB; UCB US). UCB withdrew from the NICE appraisal, saying it could not agree an economically sustainable route to reimbursement (NICE TA1028).
Who funded the trials
- PIONEER 1 and 2: AbbVie, with its employees among the authors (NEJM 2016). A later analysis of the same trials said AbbVie reviewed it before submission (search summary only).
- SUNSHINE and SUNRISE: Novartis, with several authors affiliated to Novartis in Ireland, Switzerland and the US (Lancet 2023).
- BE HEARD 1 and 2: UCB, which describes the trials as the basis for its regulatory submissions (UCB press release).
- Cochrane review: Cochrane Skin. One author declared an AbbVie-sponsored observational study, and another receives editorial and expense payments from Cochrane Skin (Cochrane summary).
Patient group and clinic funding
The US Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation says its board was backed by AbbVie as its first pharmaceutical partner, around 2013. Its symposium sponsors have included drug makers, and it lists UCB as a Platinum sponsor of its 2026 symposium. A journal article on specialty clinics lists the foundation president's industry ties, including advisory boards and research funding from several drug companies, among them AbbVie, UCB and Boehringer Ingelheim (specialty clinics review). That disclosure concerns a journal author and is not the foundation's own accounts. We found no published breakdown of the foundation's income by source.
Documented integrity events
- NICE TA1028 (January 2025): UCB withdrew from the bimekizumab appraisal, saying it could not agree an economically sustainable route to reimbursement (NICE TA1028).
We found no regulatory enforcement action or recall for these three biologics in our searches for HS. This is not proof that none exists.
Research funding at a glance
11 sources graded. The counts below are the independence tiers assigned in the scorecard above. They count sources, not funding amounts or evidence quality.
Public funding alone does not prove independence, and commercial funding alone does not prove a claim false. Named funders, countries and relationships are in the scorecard and source notes.
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Frequently asked questions
Is hidradenitis suppurativa the same as acne?
No. HS is a separate inflammatory disease of the skin folds that causes abscesses, tunnels and scarring. The NHS describes it as a painful, long-term condition (NHS). We did not review the acne literature for this article.
How long does it take to get a diagnosis?
Reviews we saw describe average delays of several years, often 7 to 10 years (Greek cohort review, 2024). Delay is linked to more severe disease at diagnosis (Decades Delayed review).
Do antibiotics cure HS?
No. The Cochrane review found little reliable evidence for antibiotics, and the trials were small (Cochrane summary). Antibiotics may still be used to control flares, but that is a clinical decision for a specialist.
Is adalimumab available on the NHS?
Yes, for adults with active moderate to severe HS who have not responded to conventional systemic therapy (NICE TA392).
Why is bimekizumab not on the NHS?
NICE could not recommend it because UCB withdrew from the appraisal (NICE TA1028). The trial data were positive, but the outcome reflects the commercial route to reimbursement, not a finding that the drug fails.
Does smoking cause HS?
Smoking is linked to HS in a 2024 meta-analysis with an odds ratio of 3.10 (meta-analysis). Most of the evidence is observational, so cause and effect is not established.
Is surgery a cure?
Not established. This article could not verify a pooled recurrence figure after surgery, so it does not quote one.
Who funded the main trials?
AbbVie funded the adalimumab PIONEER trials, Novartis funded the secukinumab SUNSHINE and SUNRISE trials, and UCB funded the bimekizumab BE HEARD trials (NEJM 2016; Lancet 2023; Lancet 2024).
Sources and funding notes
What we could not verify:
- The full text of the NEJM, Lancet and JAAD trial papers. These pages were blocked to our tools, so figures come from indexed abstracts, trade summaries and sponsor press material.
- A trial called "STOP" for HS antibiotics. We could not verify that trial.
- Funding statements for the Cochrane review itself, the Korean cohort, the Greek diagnostic-delay review, the 2024 meta-analysis and the 2025 surgical review.
- Author disclosures for the EADV Part 1 and Part 2 guidelines. The Part 2 summary was readable, but the disclosure section was not.
- Pregnancy, breastfeeding and children's guidance for these biologics, and current UK prices.
- Any publicly available breakdown of the HS Foundation's income by source. Its tax filings would show this.
- The clindamycin and rifampicin evidence is described differently in different summaries. We report only the case-series data we could read.
- Per-arm patient counts for BE HEARD 1 and 2. The trade summary's denominators do not sum to the reported trial sizes (505 and 509), so only the percentages are given.
- Whether the Cochrane review's lead author has any editorial role at a dermatology journal. We found no source for this, so it is not stated.
- Re-check: the PIONEER week-12 HiSCR figures, the SUNSHINE and SUNRISE week-52 HiSCR figures, the NICE TA392, TA935 and TA1028 dates and the Cochrane antibiotic conclusion were confirmed against accessible sources. The bimekizumab week-16 percentages, the secukinumab and bimekizumab adverse-event rates, the 2025 surgical recurrence figures, the Lancet correction and the STOP trial could not be verified, and they have been removed.
Sources, with role and funder:
- NICE TA392, adalimumab for HS (2016). Public appraisal; funded by UK public bodies.
- NICE TA935, secukinumab for HS (2023). Public appraisal; includes Novartis discount and patient access scheme.
- NICE TA1028, bimekizumab for HS (terminated 2025). Public appraisal; UCB withdrew.
- NHS, Hidradenitis suppurativa. NHS England patient information.
- Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, HS patient page. NHS trust information.
- Maghfour et al., From the Cochrane Library: Interventions for HS (JMIR Dermatology 2022). Summary of the Cochrane review; authors declare ties to AbbVie, UpToDate and Pfizer and Cochrane Skin.
- Ingram et al., Interventions for HS: a Cochrane systematic review (Br J Dermatol 2016). Cochrane Skin; funding statement not verified.
- Kimball et al., Two phase 3 trials of adalimumab for HS (NEJM 2016). Funded by AbbVie; AbbVie employees among authors.
- SUNSHINE and SUNRISE, secukinumab in HS (Lancet 2023). Novartis-sponsored; Novartis-affiliated authors;
- Lancet commentary on secukinumab in HS (2023). Commentary; funding not verified.
- Kimball et al., BE HEARD 1 and 2 (Lancet 2024). UCB-sponsored.
- Dermatology Times, BE HEARD results summary (2024). Trade press; quotes UCB.
- UCB press release, BE HEARD publication (2024). Company statement.
- Tsentemeidou et al., Diagnostic delay in HS: systematic review and Greek cohort (2024). Academic; funding not verified.
- Decades Delayed in Diagnosis: HS and barriers to care (review). Academic review; funding not verified.
- Meta-analysis of obesity, smoking and diabetes in HS (2024). Academic; funding not verified.
- Korean national insurance cohort on smoking cessation and HS (2024). Korean national insurance data; funding not verified.
- Sivanand et al., Weight loss and dietary interventions for HS (2020). Academic review; funding not verified.
- AAFP, HS rapid evidence review (2019). Professional journal; funding not verified.
- Hurley staging training for HS patients (Skin Appendage Disorders, 2024). Academic article; funding not verified.
- Assessment tools and phenotype classification for HS (2023). Academic review; funding not verified.
- EADV HS/acne inversa Part 2: Treatment guideline summary (2024). Professional society; disclosures not verified.
- Hidradenitis Suppurativa Foundation. US patient group with pharmaceutical sponsors.
- HS specialty clinics in the USA (PMC8436656). Journal article; discloses author industry ties.
- AbbVie Inc., Form 10-K FY2025. Company filing for corporate address.
- Novartis, Campus Basel. Company page for headquarters.
- UCB, About UCB. Company page; headquarters in Brussels.
- UCB USA. Company page for US operations.
- Combination therapy with clindamycin and rifampicin for HS: 116 patients (PubMed 19590173). Academic series.
- Oral clindamycin and rifampicin combination therapy for HS: prospective study and 1-year follow-up (PubMed 27753139). Academic study; funding not verified.
- Lincolnshire joint formulary, adalimumab for HS. NHS local formulary document.
Educational research reviewed 9 October 2026. This article is not medical advice; talk to a qualified clinician or pharmacist before starting, stopping or combining treatments.
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