New oral tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor shows promise against moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis

PF-06826647, a novel tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor in development, outperforms placebo at reducing disease severity in patient with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, reveals a new trial.

The phase IIb, double-blinded study included 178 participants who were randomly assigned to receive 50- (n=22), 100- (n=23), 200- (n=45), or 400-mg (n-43) doses of the trial drug, or to placebo (n=45). PF-06826647 was taken once-daily for 16 weeks. Patients then entered an extension phase where those who were given lower doses of PF-06826647 were uptitrated to 200- or 400-mg doses.

At the end of the initial investigational phase, the proportion of participants achieving ≥90-percent improvement in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI90) was significantly greater in the 200- (risk difference [RD], 33.0 percent, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 18.0–47.1; p=0.0004) and 400-mg [RD, 46.5 percent, 95 percent CI, 30.6–60.6; p<0.0001) dose groups relative to placebo.

Of note, such improvements started becoming apparent as early as week 4 and peaked at week 12 for both the 200- (RD, 41.6 percent; 95 percent CI, 25.6–55.9; p<0.0001) and 400-mg (RD, 61.2 percent; 95 percent CI, 44.5–74.4; p<0.0001) groups.

Common treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) included nasopharyngitis, upper respiratory tract infections, and heightened blood pressure; most side effects were either mild or moderate. Nine patients eventually discontinued treatment due to TEAEs, seven of which were deemed to be related to the study drug.