Deucravacitinib safer and more effective than apremilast for treating moderate to severe scalp psoriasis

A study was done to evaluate the efficacy and safety of deucravacitinib (DEUC) in scalp psoriasis. POETYK PSO-1 and PSO-2 were global phase 3, 52-week, double-blinded trials in adults with moderate to severe psoriasis. Patients were randomized 1:2:1 to oral placebo, deucravacitinib ( 6 mg once daily, or apremilast 30 mg twice daily. This pooled secondary analysis evaluated scalp-specific Physician Global Assessment score of 0 or 1 (0/1), ≥90% improvement from baseline in Psoriasis Scalp Severity Index, and change from baseline in Psoriasis Scalp Severity Index. Adverse events were evaluated through week 16.

Results

Overall, 1084 patients with moderate to severe scalp psoriasis at baseline were included. At week 16, response rates were greater with deucravacitinib ( versus placebo or apremilast for scalp-specific Physician Global Assessment 0/1 (64.0% vs 17.3% vs 37.7%; P < .0001), ≥90% improvement from baseline in Psoriasis Scalp Severity Index (50.6% vs 10.5% vs 26.1%; P < .0001), and change from baseline in Psoriasis Scalp Severity Index. Responses were maintained through 52 weeks with continuous deucravacitinib (. Safety was consistent with the entire study population. Deucravacitinib ( was significantly more efficacious than placebo or apremilast in improving moderate to severe scalp psoriasis and was well tolerated.

Reference:

Andrew Blauvelt, Phoebe Rich,Howard Sofen, Bruce Strober, Joseph F. Merola, MD, MMSc

Mark Lebwohl, Akimichi Morita, Jacek C. Szepietowski, Jo Lambert, Lauren Hippeli, Elizabeth Colston, Eugene Balagula,Subhashis Banerjee, Diamant Thaçi. Deucravacitinib, a selective, allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor, in scalp psoriasis: A subset analysis of two phase 3 randomized trials in plaque psoriasis. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Open AccessPublished:December 18, 2023DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2023.11.060

Keywords:

Deucravacitinib, apremilast, scalp psoriasis, Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, Apremilast, clinical trial, deucravacitinib, psoriasis, scalp psoriasis, TYK2, tyrosine kinase 2