Cal/BD PAD cream in plaque PsO: Post hoc analysis of phase III MC2-01-C2 and MC2-01-C7 trials

Results from a pooled post hoc analysis of the multicenter, randomized, investigator-blind, phase III MC2-01-C2 (NCT03802344) and MC2-01-C7 (NCT03308799) trials evaluating early treatment response to calcipotriol + betamethasone dipropionate (Cal/BD) polyaphron dispersion (PAD) cream (n = 551) vs Cal/BD gel (n = 542) and PAD cream vehicle (n = 178) in adults with mild-to-moderate plaque psoriasis (PsO) were published in Dermatology and Therapy by Esposito et al. Endpoints included change from baseline in Physician’s Global Assessment (PGA) and Subject’s Global Assessment (SGA) at Week 1 and Week 4. 

Key data: At Week 4, a significantly greater proportion of early responders achieving PGA-controlled disease was observed with Cal/BD PAD-cream (32.1%) vs Cal/BD gel (21.4%; p < 0.0001) and PAD vehicle (4.5%; p < 0.0001), with significant differences observed from Week 1. Rates of PGA success (23.6% vs 14.8% and 1.1%; both p < 0.0001) and SGA controlled disease (41.6% vs 31.5% and 14.0%; p = 0.0006 and p < 0.0001) were also higher with Cal/BD PAD-cream vs Cal/BD gel and PAD vehicle. Concordance between PGA and SGA assessments was observed in 65.5% (controlled disease) and 69.5% (success) of patients treated with Cal/BD PAD-cream. 

Key learning: Cal/BD PAD-cream was associated with significantly higher early response rates vs Cal/BD gel and PAD vehicle in adults with mild-to-moderate plaque PsO, with significant differences observed from Week 1. These findings highlight the clinical relevance of early treatment response and the complementary value of patient-reported outcomes (PROs), such as SGA, in PsO management.