Incyte's skin disease drug shows long-term symptom relief

Incyte said on Saturday its experimental skin disease drug showed long-term reduction of symptoms in two late-stage trials.

The ​company tested the drug, povorcitinib, in patients with ‌moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa, a chronic skin disease that causes painful lumps, abscesses and scarring, usually in areas where skin rubs ​together like the armpits or groin.

The new data, ​presented at a medical meeting, showed that after 54 ⁠weeks of treatment, up to 71.4% of patients taking ​the drug achieved at least 50% reduction in abscesses and ​inflamed skin bumps in the trials.

The studies also showed that up to 57% of patients achieved major symptom reduction and up to 29% ​achieved complete clearance of key skin lesions.

Povorcitinib is a ​once-daily pill that works by blocking JAK1, a protein involved in the ‌inflammation ⁠that leads to painful abscesses and nodules.

Treatment options for the condition are limited and are mainly injectable drugs.

There are currently three FDA-approved treatments for the condition: AbbVie’s Humira, Novartis’ Cosentyx and ​UCB’s Bimzelx.

The most ⁠frequent side effects were acne, nasopharyngitis and upper respiratory tract infections, Incyte said.

Hidradenitis suppurativa ​affects about 1% to 4% of people in ​the ⁠United States and has a higher impact on people from racial and ethnic minority groups, according to the U.S. Food ⁠and ​Drug Administration.

Incyte said applications seeking approval ​of povorcitinib are currently under review by the FDA and the European Medicines ​Agency.