EC approves deucravacitinib for adults with active PsA

On May 8, 2026, the European Commission (EC) approved deucravacitinib, alone or in combination with methotrexate, for the treatment of adults with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA) who are intolerant to, or have had an inadequate response to, a prior disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD).¹ Deucravacitinib is the first tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor approved for this indication.¹

Approval was based on results from the phase III POETYK PsA-1 (NCT04908202) and POETYK PsA-2 (NCT04908189) studies, which demonstrated that a higher proportion of patients achieved a minimal disease activity (MDA) response (pooled p < 0.0001), disease activity in psoriatic arthritis (DAPSA) low disease activity or remission (pooled p < 0.0001), DAPSA disease remission (pooled p < 0.0001), a psoriatic arthritis response criteria (PsARC) response (pooled p < 0.0001), and an improved psoriatic arthritis disease activity score (PASDAS; pooled p < 0.0001) at Week 16.^1,2 The most common adverse reactions were upper respiratory infections, blood creatine phosphokinase increase, herpes simplex infections, oral ulcers, acneiform rash, and folliculitis.¹