Deucravacitinib in Moderate Plaque Psoriasis: Efficacy in the Phase 3 POETYK PSO-1 and PSO-2 Trials

Introduction: Deucravacitinib, an oral, selective, allosteric TYK2 inhibitor, was efficacious and well tolerated in adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in the global, 52-week, phase 3 POETYK PSO-1 (NCT03624127) and PSO-2 (NCT03611751) trials. We report clinical efficacy of deucravacitinib in the patient subgroup from these trials with baseline plaque psoriasis of moderate severity. Methods: PSO-1 and PSO-2 randomized patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis (PASI ≥12, sPGA ≥3, BSA involvement ≥10% at baseline) 1:2:1 to oral placebo, deucravacitinib 6 mg once daily, or apremilast 30 mg twice daily. Placebo patients crossed over to deucravacitinib at Week 16 in both trials. In PSO-1, deucravacitinib-treated patients received continuous deucravacitinib through Week 52. In PSO-2, PASI 75 responders at Week 24 on deucravacitinib were rerandomized to placebo or deucravacitinib (1:1) through Week 52. In patients meeting criteria for plaque psoriasis of moderate severity, defined as sPGA 3 and BSA 10%-15% at baseline, in the pooled PSO-1/PSO-2 trials, PSO-1 alone, and the PSO-1 placebo crossover population, deucravacitinib efficacy vs placebo was evaluated by PASI 75, PASI 90, and sPGA 0/1 (clear/almost clear) responses (nonresponder imputation) and PASI change from baseline (mBOCF). The Clopper-Pearson method was used to calculate 95% CIs. Results: PSO-1/PSO-2 moderate psoriasis subgroup PASI 75 response rates were higher with deucravacitinib vs placebo at Week 16 (49.1% [95% CI, 42.5%-55.7%] vs 11.7% [95% CI%, 5.9%-17.4%]) and continued to increase through Week 24 (63.8% [95% CI, 57.5%-70.1%]). PSO-1 PASI 75 response rates were higher with deucravacitinib vs placebo at Week 16 (54.1% [95% CI, 42.1%-65.7%] vs 12.0% [95% CI, 4.5%-24.3%]), Week 24, and were sustained until Week 52. Week 52 PASI 75 response rates for deucravacitinib and placebo crossover groups were comparable (74.3% [95% CI, 62.8%-83.8%] and 67.4% [95% CI, 51.5%-80.9%], respectively). PASI 90 and sPGA 0/1 response rates and change from baseline PASI followed similar patterns, with marked improvement vs placebo at Week 16; peak responses were observed at Week 24 and sustained through Week 52. Efficacy results were comparable to those previously reported for moderate to severe psoriasis. Conclusion: Deucravacitinib efficacy was confirmed in moderate plaque psoriasis and was consistent with published data in the PSO-1 and PSO-2 overall study population with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.