Povorcitinib sustains efficacy through 52 weeks in hidradenitis suppurativa

Results from an open-label extension of a phase 2 study evaluating povorcitinib in adults with hidradenitis suppurativa showed participants maintained average efficacy, Incyte announced in a press release.

“HS is a chronic, progressive and debilitating condition for which there is no cure,” Kurt Brown, MD, global program head of povorcitinib and associate vice president of drug development, inflammation and autoimmunity at Incyte, said in the release. “We are encouraged by these phase 2 data and believe they reinforce the potential of povorcitinib to be a safe and efficacious treatment for HS that is tolerable with longer-term administration, even at the higher doses.”

Presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress, this double-blind, placebo-controlled study previously met its primary endpoint at week 16, with once-daily povorcitinib-treated patients exhibiting significantly greater decreases of abscess and inflammatory nodule (AN) counts from baseline compared with placebo-treated counterparts.

The new data included a 36-week open-label extension period during which all patients received 75 mg of povorcitinib once daily. According to the release, the average efficacy was maintained in all treatment arms.

Following the switch to 75 mg in all groups, the mean decrease of AN counts from baseline to week 52 was –5.7 for those originally on placebo, –8.4 for those originally on 15 mg povorcitinib and –10.4 for those originally on 45 mg povorcitinib. The group that maintained a 75 mg dose of povorcitinib in the extension study saw an AN count decrease of –5.4.

Povorcitinib also demonstrated durable efficacy at week 52, with 22% to 29% of patients achieving HS Clinical Response 100, or a 100% reduction from baseline in total AN count with no increase, according to the release.

Povorcitinib was well tolerated by patients and exhibited a safety profile that was consistent with previously reported data. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events included COVID-19 (21.3%), acne (11.5%), upper respiratory tract infection (10.9%), headache (5.7%), nasopharyngitis (5.7%), urinary tract infection (5.7%) and increased blood creatine kinase (5.2%). Treatment-related adverse events led to study discontinuation in six patients.