Zasocitinib Could Raise the Efficacy Bar for Oral Psoriasis Treatment, Takeda Doctor Says
Key Takeaways
- Chinwe Ukomadu, MD, PhD, said zasocitinib’s Phase 3 program showed rapid and durable skin clearance, including responses in difficult-to-treat sites and previously treated patient subgroups.
- Ukomadu said the investigational once-daily oral TYK2 inhibitor is intended to narrow the efficacy gap patients and physicians may perceive between oral therapies and injectable biologics.
- Longer-term efficacy data through week 52 have not yet been fully presented, but Ukomadu said responses continued to improve beyond week 16.
Following the US Food and Drug Administration's decision to grant Priority Review to zasocitinib (TAK-279) for adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, Chinwe Ukomadu, MD, PhD, head of the Gastrointestinal & Inflammation Therapeutic Area at Takeda, spoke with Practical Dermatology about where the investigational oral TYK2 inhibitor could fit into the treatment landscape if approved.
The new drug application is supported by the Phase 3 LATITUDE PsO 3001 and 3002 trials, in which approximately 70% of patients receiving zasocitinib achieved clear or almost clear skin by static Physician Global Assessment at week 16. The studies compared zasocitinib with placebo and apremilast.
Oral Zasocitinib Targets Biologic-Like Psoriasis Outcomes
“In our pivotal Phase III studies, zasocitinib has delivered rapid, durable, consistent skin clearance,” Dr. Ukomadu said, adding that responses were observed across patient subgroups, including patients previously treated with biologics and those with disease involving high-impact sites.
Dr. Ukomadu also pointed to the convenience of once-daily administration without regard to food and to clinical comparisons with established oral therapies. In addition to the apremilast-controlled pivotal trials, zasocitinib has been evaluated head-to-head against deucravacitinib.
For oral therapies to alter the current treatment paradigm, Dr. Ukomadu said efficacy will be central.
“We are trying to show that our patients can take a pill that approaches or accomplishes what injectables try to do,” he said. “The goal will be to achieve clear or near clear skin without sacrificing efficacy.”
Dr. Ukomadu said response to zasocitinib has continued beyond the initial week-16 assessment, although complete efficacy findings through week 52 have not yet been presented.
“It’s a chronic lifelong disease, so physicians [and] patients are looking for the thing that will kick in early, but not the thing that kicks in early and fades away,” he said. “That’s why we think the week 16 to 52 data are important.”
Takeda plans to present additional longer-term efficacy data at an upcoming medical meeting.