Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s oral allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor TAK-279 met primary and secondary endpoints in a phase IIb clinical trial in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, but analysts say it may be too little too late to make a big splash compared to competitors.

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s oral allosteric tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor TAK-279 (formerly NDI-034858) met primary and secondary endpoints in a phase IIb clinical trial in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, but analysts say it may be too little too late to make a big splash compared to competitors.

Sotyktu (deucravacitinib), the tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor for psoriasis from Bristol Myers Squibb Co., is “a good first-in-class” drug, said Nimbus Therapeutics LLC CEO Jeb Keiper, but his firm may have the best in class, ready for phase III trials. Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. apparently believes so. The company has agreed to pay $4 billion up front and pledge as much as $2 billion more in potential milestone payments to acquire Nimbus’s wholly owned subsidiary, Nimbus Lakshmi Inc., thereby bringing aboard the TYK2 prospect called NDI-034858.

The structure of a potent and selective TYK2 inhibitor, NDI-034858 (NTX-973), which was found clinically effective in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, was disclosed for the first time by researchers from Nimbus Therapeutics LLC.