BMS’ deucravacitinib beats Otezla in psoriasis study

Bristol Myers Squibb’s investigative drug deucravacitinib has demonstrated positive results in a Phase III trial, including showing superiority over Amgen’s Otezla (apremilast).

In the POETYK PSO-2 trial, the oral selective tyrosine kinase (TYK2) inhibitor was evaluated as a treatment for patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

In this trial, once-daily deucravacitinib 6 mg met both co-primary endpoints compared to placebo, with significantly more deucravacitinib-treated patients achieving Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI 75) and a static Physician's Global Assessment (sPGA) score of clear or almost clear (sPGA 0/1) after 16 weeks of treatment.

The trial also met a number of secondary endpoints, including showing once-daily deucravacitinib was superior to Otezla in the amount of patients reaching PASI 75 and sPGA 0/1 at week 16.

“Deucravacitinib was designed to be a selective TYK2 inhibitor that inhibits the IL-12, IL-23 and Type 1 IFN pathways, which are implicated in multiple immune-mediated diseases,” said Samit Hirawat, executive vice president, chief medical officer, global drug development, Bristol Myers Squibb.

The superior efficacy we have observed in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis, combined with the well-tolerated safety profile, are consistent with the novel mechanism of action of deucravacitinib, a potential new class of molecule,” he added.