AbbVie says Skyrizi beat Amgen’s Otezla in plaque psoriasis trial
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AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) announced Wednesday that its FDA-approved immunology therapy, Skyrizi, outperformed Amgenâs (NASDAQ:AMGN) blockbuster therapy, Otezla, in a Phase 4 head-to-head study for adults with the skin disorder plaque psoriasis.
The two-period trial called IMMpulse was designed to compare Skyrizi (risankizumab) against Otezla (apremilast) over a 52-week treatment period in adults with moderate plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy.
Citing data published in the British Journal of Dermatology on Tuesday, AbbVie (ABBV) said that IMMpulse achieved all primary and secondary endpoints with no new safety signals.
Highlights of the findings indicate that at Week 16, ~56% patients and 75% of patients treated with Skyrizi achieved the Period A co-primary endpoints of the trial, defined by two key measures used to define disease severity.
In comparison, ~5% and 18% of patients treated with Otezla achieved the measures known as Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) 90 and Static Physician's Global Assessment (sPGA).
As for safety, during periods A and B, 6.8% and 5.2% of apremilast-treated patients discontinued treatment due to an adverse event, respectively, compared to one patient treated with risankizumab.
The results come as AbbVie (ABBV), which markets Skyrizi in collaboration with German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim, positions its immunology portfolio to offset the impact of biosimilars against its blockbuster arthritis therapy Humira.
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