VIDEO: JAK inhibitor povorcitinib reduces itch in patients with prurigo nodularis

SAN DIEGO — In this Healio video perspective, Martin Metz, MD, discusses the results from a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the Janus kinase inhibitor povorcitinib for the treatment of prurigo nodularis.

The study showed that more than 50% of the patients achieved the primary endpoint of a 4-point reduction in the numerical rating scale of itch. There was also a statistically significant improvement of itch after 2 weeks, well before the 16-week endpoint, Metz said here at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.

“Altogether what we were able to present here at the AAD is a very promising phase 2 trial that will prompt new investigations, and hopefully a phase 3, and hopefully a new drug for our patients with prurigo nodularis,” Metz, of the Institute of Allergology at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, said.