Deucravacitinib holds promise for patients with psoriatic arthritis

Deucravacitinib, a selective tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, demonstrated significant improvements versus placebo in psoriatic arthritis, with a favourable safety profile and maintenance of response over 52 weeks of treatment.

Prof. Philip Mease (Swedish Medical Center, WA, USA) presented data from the POETYK PsA-1 trial (NCT04908202), a phase 3 global, randomised, double-blind, clinical trial in participants with psoriatic arthritis [1]. Adult participants were eligible if they had ≥3 swollen joints, ≥3 tender joints, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) ≥3 mg/L, and ≥1 psoriatic arthritis-related hand or foot erosion on radiography, and were required to be biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD)-naïve. Randomisation (1:1) was carried out to deucravacitinib 6 mg once daily or placebo for 16 weeks, after which participants initially receiving placebo were switched to deucravacitinib, for a total treatment duration of 52 weeks. The primary endpoint was the proportion of participants achieving an ACR20 response at week 16. In total, 670 participants were enrolled.

The trial met its primary endpoint, with ACR20 response rates of 54.2% for deucravacitinib and 34.1% for placebo (P<0.0001). Following the treatment switch, ACR20 response continued to improve, reaching 63.1% in participants who received continuous deucravacitinib and 60.8% in those who switched from placebo to deucravacitinib at week 52. Furthermore, significant improvements in ACR50 and ACR70 were observed at week 16, with responses maintained through week 52.

After 52 weeks of treatment, the most commonly reported adverse events were upper respiratory tract infection, nasopharyngitis, and hypertension. Acne was also reported in both groups, but there were no serious infections, malignancies, or major adverse cardiovascular events.

“We saw that multiple domains of psoriatic arthritis were improved through week 16 and were maintained through week 52,” concluded Prof. Mease. “Furthermore, participants who were originally on placebo and switched to deucravacitinib had similar response trajectories over time. The safety profile was benign, and this oral medication will be a welcome addition to the armamentarium.”

1. van der Heijde D, et al. Efficacy and safety of deucravacitinib up to Week 52: A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study in patients with active psoriatic arthritis who are naive to biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. ACR Convergence, 24–29 October 2025, Chicago, IL, USA.

Medical writing support was provided by Mihai Surducan, PhD.

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Posted on 30 October 202530 October 2025