Bristol Myers Squibb’s investigative drug duecravacitinib 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 duecravacitinib 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 Hira

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,”said Samit Hirawat, executive vice president, chief medical officer, global drug development, Bristol Myers Squibb.