Dr. Alexa Kimball Highlights Early Response, HiSCR75 Findings With Tulisokibart in Hidradenitis Suppurativa
Key Takeaways
- The Phase 2b results provide encouraging evidence that TL1A is a biologically relevant therapeutic target in hidradenitis suppurativa (HS).
- Beyond the primary HiSCR50 endpoint, Dr. Kimball highlighted HiSCR75 and quality-of-life findings, while noting that the study presentation did not provide enough subgroup detail to identify which patients might benefit most from TL1A inhibition.
- Treatment effects emerged by week 4 and continued to improve through week 16, an encouraging feature of the tulisokibart response trajectory.
New Phase 2b data for tulisokibart may provide early clinical evidence supporting tumor necrosis factor-like cytokine 1A (TL1A) as a therapeutic target in hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), according to study investigator Alexa Kimball, MD, MPH.
As previously reported by Practical Dermatology, tulisokibart met the primary week 16 HiSCR50 endpoint in the MK-7240-012 trial at both the high- and medium-dose regimens. HiSCR50 response rates were 72% with high-dose tulisokibart and 64% with the medium dose compared with 35% with placebo.
Early Response and Higher-Threshold Efficacy
“These results provide encouraging evidence that TL1A is a biologically relevant target in HS and that blocking this pathway can lead to meaningful clinical improvement,” Dr. Kimball told Practical Dermatology.
Dr. Kimball said the HiSCR50 and HiSCR75 results were among the most clinically meaningful findings.
“They reflect high levels of preliminary efficacy,” she said. “Quality of life measures also improved, and the HiSCR50 and DLQI also showed consistently higher response with higher doses.”
At week 16, HiSCR75 response rates were 41% with high-dose tulisokibart and 40% with the medium dose, compared with 15% with placebo. Mean Dermatology Life Quality Index reductions from baseline were 5.62 points with the high dose, 3.50 points with the medium dose, and 2.46 points with placebo. These were non-ranked secondary outcomes.
Dr. Kimball also pointed to the timing of response as an encouraging signal.
“One of the most encouraging findings was the early onset of activity, with treatment effects evident as early as Week 4,” she said. “Responses continued to improve through Week 16, suggesting that benefits may build over time with ongoing treatment.”
For now, however, Dr. Kimball cautioned against drawing conclusions about which patients may be most likely to respond.
“Our presentation does not provide detailed subgroup analyses, so it is too early to identify which patients may benefit most,” she said. “However, future analyses may help determine whether certain disease characteristics or biologic profiles are associated with stronger responses to TL1A inhibition.”
Looking ahead, Dr. Kimball said the findings could broaden the HS treatment landscape if replicated in larger studies.
“If these findings are confirmed in larger studies, tulisokibart could become an important new option for patients with moderate-to-severe HS,” she said. “If confirmed in larger trials, the combination of rapid response, substantial efficacy, and favorable tolerability makes it a promising addition to the evolving HS treatment landscape.”