Bristol Myers Squibb’s psoriasis med hits the mark in phase III

Bristol Myers Squibb’s tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor deucravacitinib outperformed Amgen’s Otezla in a phase III psoriasis study, the pharma company revealed yesterday.

The POETYK PSO-1 evaluated deucravacitinib as a treatment for patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

The drug met both the co-primary endpoints versus placebo, with more patients achieving Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) 75 – defined as at least 75% improvement in PASI.

In addition, a static Physician’s Global Assessment (sPGA) score of clear or almost clear (sPGA 0/1) after 16 weeks of treatment with deucravacitinib.

BMS’ med also met a number of secondary endpoints, including showing superiority over Amgen’s Otezla in the proportion of patients reaching a PASI 75 response and sPGA 0/1 at week 16.

POETYK PSO-1 is the first of two global phase III studies designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of deucravacitinib compared to placebo and Otezla in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

The data from the second study, POETYK PSO-2, are expected in the first quarter of 2021, with deucravacitinib also being evaluated in a wide spectrum of immune-mediated diseases.

“We are encouraged by the efficacy and safety profile observed in the POETYK PSO-1 study, which supports the strong potential we see for deucravacitinib, our novel, oral, selective TYK2 inhibitor, to be an important new therapy in psoriasis,” said Samit Hirawat, executive vice president, chief medical officer, global drug development, BMS.

“We recognise there is a significant unmet need for new therapeutic options for people with immune-mediated diseases, such as psoriasis, and are committed to pursuing potential new medicines that will give physicians additional choices to effectively treat and manage their patients,” he added.