Deucravacitinib bests placebo, apremilast in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis

Treatment with deucravacitinib achieves better efficacy than placebo and apremilast in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, while also yielding a good safety profile, reports a recent study.

The present study was a 52-week, double-blinded, randomized, phase III trial that treated patients with 6 mg deucravacitinib once daily (n=511), 30 mg apremilast twice daily (n=254), or placebo (n=255). Outcomes were assessed at week 16, in terms of a ≥75-percent reduction in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI 75) and a static Physician’s Global Asssessment score of 0 or 1 (sPGA 0/1).

A significantly higher proportion of the deucravacitinib arm achieve PASI 75 as compared with placebo (53.0 percent vs 9.4 percent; p<0.0001) and apremilast (53.0 percent vs 39.8 percent; p=0.0004). The same was true for sPGA 0/1 (49.5 percent vs 8.6 percent and 33.9 percent; p<0.0001 for both).

Similarly, deucravacitinib treatment induced significantly higher rates of PASI 90, PASI 100, and sPGA 0 responses at week 16, as compared with either placebo or apremilast. PASI 90 remained better in the deucravacitinib group at week 24.

Of note, such superior efficacy was maintained until week 52 with continuous treatment.

In terms of safety, the most common adverse event in the deucravacitinib group was nasopharyngitis, while serious side effects were rare. No clinically meaningful alterations in laboratory parameters were documented. Discontinuations due to toxicities were also infrequent.

“These findings suggest deucravacitinib has the potential to be an efficacious and well-tolerated, once-daily, oral treatment option for plaque psoriasis,” the researchers said.