French pharmaceutical company Sanofi announced on Tuesday that Dupixent, the world's first targeted biological agent for atopic dermatitis (AD) treatment, has been approved by China's National Medical Products Administration to treat moderate to severe AD in infants and children aged between six months old and five years old.

It means that the innovative injection has become so far the first and only targeted biological agent approved for the treatment of moderate to severe AD covering all age groups from infancy to adulthood. It is also the first therapeutic biological agent of its kind to be used in infants and young children aged six months and above.

AD is a common immunoinflammatory disease that seriously affects the health and quality of life of millions of sufferers in the country. The disease is characterized by chronic and recurrent itching and skin injuries.

Over the past decade, the prevalence of AD in China has been rising, and the incidence rate is higher among the younger group. The prevalence of AD in children aged between 1 and 7 years old is nearly 13 percent, and its prevalence in infants under 1 year old is more than 30 percent, according to experts.

Ma Lin, director of the dermatology department of Beijing Children's Hospital Affiliated with Capital Medical University, said that AD may affect the young sufferers’ growth and development, sleep and cognitive function, which poses a serious disease burden to the child sufferers and their parents.

"The approval of the innovative medicine to be used for infants and young children provides opportunities for the minors to thrive in the early stages of life. It also provides a safe and effective treatment plan for clinical doctors," she said.