Bristol Myers Squibb Reports Success in Pivotal Trial of Psoriasis Drug

11/4/20

By Jim Crumly MotleyFool

Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) on Tuesday announced positive results from a phase 3 trial of deucravacitinib in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. The drug, an oral tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, met primary endpoints versus placebo, and was superior to Otezla among those patients who responded well to the treatment. Celgene sold Otezla to Amgen last year to clear the way for its acquisition by Bristol Myers Squibb.

Bristol Myers Squibb will release more detailed results from the study at a medical conference in the next few days, but said more patients achieved a 75% improvement on the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index and a static Physicians Global Assessment score of clear or almost clear after 16 weeks of treatment with the drug than did those in the placebo group. Some secondary endpoints were also met, including superiority to Otezla. There were 666 patients in the study.

Dollar signs spilling out of a pill.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

Bristol Myers Squibb and Celgene divested Otezla to Amgen for the massive price of $13.4 billion in order to alleviate the Federal Trade Commission's concerns about their merger, and the deal is paying off for Amgen. Otezla is approved for plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, and is selling at an annual rate of over $2 billion with double-digit growth.

It'll be a while before deucravacitinib starts cutting into Otezla's sales, assuming it's approved, but Bristol Myers Squibb could be filling the gap in its immunology lineup with a superior drug. The pharmaceutical giant has deucravacitinib in phase 2 trials for treating psoriatic arthritis, lupus nephritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.

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