Key drugs from Johnson & Johnson and Eli Lilly stand to bolster their respective cases in competitive dermatology markets with new data readouts.
J&J evaluated its Tremfya in patients with low body surface area moderate plaque psoriasis with special site involvement who had failed on topical treatment. “Special sites” include sensitive or highly visible areas affected by the disease including the scalp, face, skin folds and genitals, J&J explained in a release.
The SPECTREM study is the first large-scale trial to measure skin clearance and other outcomes in the patient group, according to J&J. The drugmaker found that 74.2% of patients in the Tremfya group met the primary endpoint by achieving disease clearance or minimal disease. That compared with 12.4% of patients who achieved the same level of response in the placebo group.
Tremfya also proved beneficial across secondary endpoints and in patient-reported quality of life measures, J&J said. The patient group is largely undertreated with systemic treatments despite the disease's significant impact on their daily lives, according to the company.
With biosimilar competition and Inflation Reduction Act impacts approaching for the drugmaker’s immunology star Stelara, Tremfya is positioned to become a formidable successor. The biologic recently picked up a nod in ulcerative colitis, rivaling AbbVie’s Humira heir Skyrizi.
Eli Lilly, meanwhile, tested its IL-13 inhibitor Ebglyss in patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis who were previously treated with Regeneron and Sanofi’s immunology megablockbuster Dupixent (dupilumab). The phase 3b ADapt study found that 57% of patients on Lilly’s drug achieved a 75% or greater improvement in their Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI-75) scores at Week 16. The endpoint measures the extent and severity of the skin disease.
By Week 24, 60% of Ebglyss-treated patients experienced that level of improvement. The results are largely in line with prior studies of the drug in patients who hadn’t had prior Dupixent exposure, Lilly said in a release. By Week 16, 46% of Ebglyss patients who had experienced an inadequate response on Dupixent met the bar for EASI-75.
"This trial supports the growing body of data showing that health care providers can have confidence prescribing Ebglyss as a first-line biologic treatment for moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, and reinforces that Ebglyss provided a meaningful benefit among individuals who have already tried another biologic treatment such as dupilumab and may have more difficult-to-treat disease," senior vice president of Lilly’s immunology department, Mark Genovese, M.D., said in the company’s release.
Ebyglyss picked up its first FDA nod for atopic dermatitis nod last month following a 2023 European approval. The biologic is Lilly’s third in its growing immunology sector and goes up against dominant Dupixent in the crowded market.