UCB has shared positive long-term results for its inflammatory disease drug bimekizumab in moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS).
Estimated to affect about 1% of the population in most studied countries, HS is an inflammatory skin disease that causes nodules, abscesses and pus-discharging draining tunnels. Many patients experience flare-ups of the disease as well as severe pain, which can have a major impact on quality of life.
UCB’s bimekizumab is designed to selectively inhibit both IL-17A and IL-17F, two key cytokines driving inflammatory processes.
Pooled data from the late-stage BE HEARD I and BE HEARD II studies, presented at this year’s American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting, showed that bimekizumab was associated with clinically meaningful and sustained improvements in the signs and symptoms of adults with moderate-to-severe HS.
Results showed that bimekizumab-treated patients reported clinically meaningful improvements in skin pain up to 48 weeks across various assessed outcomes. This included the HS Symptom Questionnaire (HSSQ) skin pain item, with an HSSQ skin pain response achieved by 64.6 to 75.7% of patients and an HSSQ score of zero achieved by 12.7 to 19.8% at week 48.
Bimekizumab-treated patients also demonstrated greater reductions in draining tunnel count compared to those in the placebo cohort at week 16, with responses either sustained or improved to week 48.
“The majority of patients with HS experience disease-associated pain that can impact their quality of life,” said Dr Hadar Lev-Tov of the University of Miami. “These long-term results are encouraging, especially given that pain is a common complaint in people with HS that dermatologists struggle with daily.”
Bimekizumab is already approved in the EU under the trade name Bimzelx to treat plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and axial spondyloarthritis, but is not yet approved for use in HS by any regulatory authority worldwide.
Commenting on the results, Emmanuel Caeymaex, executive vice president, immunology solutions and head of US at UCB, said: “The bimekizumab 48-week long-term data in moderate-to-severe HS showed sustained improvements in skin pain and draining tunnel count… We are actively pursuing regulatory applications across the globe to bring bimekizumab to the HS community.”