Deucravacitinib beneficial in Moderate-to-Severe Plaque Psoriasis: Study

Deucravacitinib is an oral, selective tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor that demonstrated therapeutic benefit in Phase 2 clinical trial of adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. This analysis was designed to evaluate the effect of deucravacitinib on additional clinical and quality-of-life (QoL) outcomes and assess the relationship between these outcomes in adults with psoriasis.

Post-hoc analysis of a 12-week Phase 2 trial was conducted for the three most efficacious dosage groups (3 mg twice daily, 6 mg twice daily, 12 mg once daily) and placebo. Investigator assessments for efficacy included Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), body surface area (BSA) involvement, and static Physician's Global Assessment; QoL was assessed using the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI). Treatment responses and their associations were evaluated over time.

Results:

Deucravacitinib elicited improvement versus placebo as early as Week 4 for most efficacy measures (including changes in absolute PASI and BSA), with efficacy trends observed from Week 2 to Week 12. Improvements in QoL, assessed by the achievement of a DLQI overall score of 0/1 (no effect at all on patient's life), followed a pattern similar to deucravacitinib-related clinical outcomes over 12 weeks. Overall, patients with greater improvements in psoriasis-related clinical signs and symptoms also reported greater improvement in QoL. However, complete skin clearance was not required for achieving DLQI 0/1.

Thus, deucravacitinib treatment produced an early response and similar trends in improvements across multiple efficacy assessments and QoL in moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Deucravacitinib has the potential to become a promising new oral therapy for this condition.

Reference:

Thaçi D, Strober B, Gordon KB, et al. Deucravacitinib in Moderate to Severe Psoriasis: Clinical and Quality-of-Life Outcomes in a Phase 2 Trial [published online ahead of print, 2022 Jan 13]. Dermatol Ther (Heidelb). 2022;10.1007/s13555-021-00649-y.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35025062/