Takeda announced on June 11 that its investigational oral drug zasocitinib significantly outperformed Bristol Myers Squibb’s Sotyktu in achieving complete skin clearance for patients with psoriasis during a Phase 3 clinical study. The company said more than 35% of patients treated with the daily pill achieved total skin clearance at week 16, which was over two and a half times the response rate seen with Sotyktu.
Chinwe Ukomadu, head of the Gastrointestinal & Inflammation Therapeutic Area at Takeda, said in a prepared statement that zasocitinib’s superior efficacy compared to Sotyktu was apparent as early as week eight. “These findings reinforce the promise of zasocitinib to deliver rapid and durable skin clearance in a convenient once-daily pill,” Ukomadu said.
The study also found that zasocitinib surpassed Sotyktu on key secondary outcomes, including PASI 90 response—a measure indicating at least a 90% improvement in skin lesions. Takeda reported similar results from earlier late-stage studies, noting that around 30 percent of patients achieved completely clear skin and more than half reached PASI 90.
Zasocitinib was acquired by Takeda from Nimbus Therapeutics for $4 billion last December. Andy Plump, Takeda’s head of research and development, said the company beat out “almost every biopharmaceutical company” to secure the deal. The drug is designed using artificial intelligence and targets the TYK2 protein while maintaining IL-23 inhibition for up to 24 hours.
Takeda has released additional data from two studies conducted in March showing total skin clearance rates between 25.2% and 33.4% at week sixteen—results that were better than those observed with placebo or Amgen’s Otezla. With these latest outcomes, Takeda said it plans to file regulatory applications for zasocitinib with both the United States Food and Drug Administration and other global health authorities starting this fiscal year.
