Gold et al. showed that icotrokinra showed superior clinical response rates versus PBO and deucravacitinib in Phase 3 moderate-to-severe plaque PsO trials. Authors evaluated the efficacy and safety of icotrokinra, a targeted oral peptide that selectively binds the IL-23 receptor, compared with both PBO and deucravacitinib in adults with moderate-to-severe plaque PsO.

July 2025

Gooderham et al. observed that roflumilast foam, 0.3%, improved signs and symptoms of PsO on the scalp and body, including pruritus, with low rates of AEs in patients ≥12 years of age. Authors assessed efficacy and safety of roflumilast foam, 0.3%, versus vehicle administered QD for 8 weeks in patients with PsO of the scalp and body.

Merola et al. showed that the safety profile of ixekizumab (IXE) supports its long-term use in patients with PsO, PsA, or axSpA, without an increased risk for malignant neoplasm development. Merola et al. investigated the incidence rates of malignant neoplasms among patients with PsO, PsA, or axSpA who underwent long-term treatment with IXE, an IL- 17A antagonist.

February 2025

Armstrong et al. evaluated the long-term safety and efficacy of deucravacitinib in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis over a three-year period. The study found that exposure-adjusted incidence rates of AEs remained stable or declined over time, with no new safety signals emerging. Clinical response rates, including PASI75/90, were maintained, supporting the drug’s long-term efficacy.

July 2024

In this letter to the editor, Papp, et al. reported that brodalumab treatment in patients with psoriasis and an inadequate response to another biologic resulted in high rates of complete skin clearance with concurrent improvements in patient-reported outcomes after 26 weeks. The mean and median times to PASI 100 were 96.8 and 112 days, respectively.

April 2024

Risankizumab therapy was associated with significant and sustained improvement in multiple disease domains from Week 52 through Week 100, compared with placebo. Kristensen et al. investigated the safety, efficacy and tolerability of 100-week risankizumab therapy in PsA patients with previous inadequate response to ≥1 csDMARD, using data from KEEPsAKE 1 trial.

Phase 3 trials of ixekizumab in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis

N Engl J Med 2016;375:345–56. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1512711

Gordon, et al. pool the results of UNCOVER-1, UNCOVER-2, and UNCOVER-3 to show that ixekizumab increases the proportion of patients achieving an sPGA score of 0/1 or PASI 75 versus placebo. Adverse events related to ixekizumab treatment included neutropenia, candidal infections, and inflammatory bowel disease.

Phase 3 studies comparing brodalumab with ustekinumab in psoriasis

N Engl J Med 2015;373:1318–28. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1503824

Brodalumab treatment resulted in a rapid reduction in the signs and symptoms of PsO. The median time to a PASI 75 response with 210 mg of brodalumab Q2W was 4 weeks, approximately twice as fast as the median time to a response with ustekinumab.

Guselkumab demonstrated superiority to adalimumab and placebo in treating PsO in this Phase 3 study. Improvements in IGA and PASI scores were observed as early as Week 16 and were maintained up to Week 48. Incidence of adverse events was similar across both treatment groups.

Bimekizumab was more efficacious than ustekinumab and placebo in the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Previous bimekizumab Phase 2 clinical studies have shown both rapid and durable clinical improvements in skin clearance, as well as a safety profile in line with expectations from this MoA. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of bimekizumab in moderate to severe plaque PsO over 1 year compared with both placebo and ustekinumab.