Protagonist Therapeutics Inc. got a win in its phase IIb study and is making plans for a phase III. JNJ-2113 (formerly PN-235), an oral, interleukin-23 receptor antagonist peptide, hit its primary efficacy endpoint in treating moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. A statistically significant greater proportion of the participants receiving JNJ-2113 saw a 75% improvement in their skin lesions compared to placebo at week 16.
Boston Immune Technologies and Therapeutics Inc. (BITT) has announced progress using its Domab platform. Two Domab CD40 antagonists, BITT-CD4D11 and BITT-CD4F10, have completed discovery and optimization and a final candidate is being selected for IND-enabling steps.
Evelo Biosciences Inc.’s late-stage efforts with EDP-1815 are forging ahead despite unfavorable data in atopic dermatitis (AD), and talks so far with the U.S. FDA have proven encouraging, the company said. Cambridge, Mass.-based Evelo made public findings from the first three cohorts of the phase II trial with EDP-1815 in AD, where the compound fell short of the primary endpoint: proportion of patients who achieve an outcome of at least a 50% improvement from baseline in Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) score compared to placebo at week 16. Evelo blamed an unusually high placebo response rate.
Medshine Discovery Inc. has synthesized nonreceptor tyrosine-protein kinase TYK2 inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease and systemic lupus erythematosus.
Research conducted at Inflection Biosciences Ltd. and affiliated organizations has led to the discovery of a novel pan-PIM kinase inhibitor, IBL-101, as a potential therapeutic candidate for autoimmune disease, including psoriasis.
Zhejiang Hisun Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. and Shanghai Aryl Pharmtech Co. Ltd. have disclosed mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase kinase 1 (MAP4K1) inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus, psoriasis, inflammation and cancer.
Shanghai Qilu Pharmaceutical Research and Development Centre Ltd. has described nonreceptor tyrosine-protein kinase TYK2 inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of psoriasis, asthma, type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, gout, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome (TRAPS), among others.
Shares in Inventiva SA (Paris:IVAA) fell about 18% after development partner Abbvie Inc. quit development of the inflammatory disease drug cedirogant following an unfavorable readout from a phase II toxicology study. The companies had worked on the asset together for about a decade. Inventiva emerged from Abbott in 2012, before the healthcare giant split in 2013 to form pharma specialist Abbvie and Abbott Laboratories, focused on medical devices.
Immunic Inc. plans to forge ahead with oral psoriasis therapy IMU-935 despite stock-punishing results from a phase Ib trial that showed a higher placebo response than expected. Shares of the New York-based firm (NASDAQ:IMUX) closed at $2.08, down $7.12, or 77.4% after findings were made public from a preplanned interim group-level data analysis of the ongoing experiment, which is testing patients with moderate to severe disease. The group averages for Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) reductions in the two active arms failed to separate from placebo at four weeks, Immunic said. Although the active arms performed as intended, placebo decreases in PASI proved greater than hoped.
Positive phase I data from Dice Therapeutics Inc. with DC-806 in psoriasis sent shares (NASDAQ:DICE) on a wild ride, closing at $40, up $15.35, or 62%, on Oct. 11, 2022, and bolstered the case for oral drugs in psoriasis – an increasingly busy indication where discouraged patients often find themselves switching between therapies.
