Hoda Tawfik
Head Of Immuno-dermatology & Oncology Program Inflarx N. V.
Hoda Tawfik is Head of Immuno-Dermatology & Oncology Program at InflaRx, bringing deep cross-functional expertise in dermatology clinical development and trial strategy. She is particularly focused on one of the field’s toughest methodological challenges: high placebo response rates that can mask true drug signal and jeopardise decision-making. Hoda contributes practical, evidence-led approaches to understanding why placebo is elevated in dermatology, how trial design choices (endpoints, sample size, assessment types, administration route) influence outcomes, and how teams can mitigate placebo impact while staying aligned with regulatory expectations.
Seminars
Thursday 21st May 2026
Cracking the Placebo Problem in Dermatology: Understanding, Measuring & Mitigating Signal Dilution in Clinical Trials
1:30 pm
- Interrogating why placebo responses are uniquely high in dermatology, examining biological, neurological, behavioural, and trial-design drivers to distinguish true treatment effect from contextual and care-related responses
- Evaluating methodological levers to reduce placebo inflation, including endpoint selection, clinician vs patient-reported outcomes, sample size strategy, mode of administration, and site-level operational practices
- Navigating regulatory expectations in high-placebo indications, exploring how agencies interpret placebo-heavy datasets and what design adaptations are acceptable to preserve statistical and clinical relevance
