Vunakizumab in moderate-to-severe plaque PsO: Phase III post hoc analysis stratified by disease features

Results from a post hoc analysis of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III trial (NCT04839016) evaluating vunakizumab in 690 patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PsO), stratified by diverse disease features, were published in the Journal of Dermatological Treatment by Liu et al. Patients were stratified by duration of PsO (<2 years vs ≥2 years), Psoriasis Activity and Severity Index (PASI) score at baseline (<20 vs ≥20), body surface area (BSA) involvement at baseline (<20% vs ≥20%), and static Physician’s Global Assessment (sPGA) score (<4 vs ≥4).

Key data: At Week 12, ≥75% improvement in PASI (PASI75), 90% improvement in PASI (PASI90), 100% improvement in PASI (PASI100), and sPGA 0/1 response rates were significantly higher in the vunakizumab group than the placebo group across all subgroups, regardless of psoriasis duration, baseline PASI score, BSA involvement, and baseline sPGA score (all p < 0.001). By Week 52, response rates were mostly comparable between patients who continuously received vunakizumab and those who switched from placebo to vunakizumab across subgroups. Exceptions included PASI75 responses in patients with a baseline PASI score <20, and both PASI75 and sPGA 0/1 responses in patients with a baseline sPGA score <4 or PsO duration <2 years.

Key learning: Vunakizumab demonstrates consistent, superior efficacy over placebo in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque PsO, regardless of baseline disease duration and severity, supporting its use across diverse patient profiles.