Povorcitinib hidradenitis suppurativa trial meets main goals
Two phase 3 trials found oral povorcitinib outperformed placebo at 12 weeks in adults with moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa.
By Tom Brennan · Health & Medicine Correspondent
2 min read
Povorcitinib met the main goal in two phase 3 hidradenitis suppurativa studies, according to results published July 23 in Nature Medicine. The povorcitinib hidradenitis suppurativa trial data matter because the oral Janus kinase 1 inhibitor produced higher response rates than placebo at 12 weeks in adults with moderate-to-severe disease.
Martina L. Porter, MD, of Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues reported results from the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled STOP-HS1 and STOP-HS2 trials. The researchers said STOP-HS1 enrolled 608 patients and STOP-HS2 enrolled 619 patients.
According to the study, participants were assigned to once-daily povorcitinib 45 mg, povorcitinib 75 mg, placebo followed by povorcitinib 45 mg after week 12, or placebo followed by povorcitinib 75 mg after week 12. Treatment was planned through week 54.
What did the povorcitinib hidradenitis suppurativa trial find?
The investigators used HiSCR50 as the primary endpoint at week 12. In the study, that meant at least a 50% reduction in the combined count of abscesses and inflammatory nodules, without an increase from baseline in abscesses or draining tunnels.
Both tested povorcitinib doses met that endpoint in both trials, the authors reported. In STOP-HS1, 40% of patients receiving povorcitinib 45 mg and 41% receiving povorcitinib 75 mg reached HiSCR50, compared with 30% of patients receiving placebo.
In STOP-HS2, the response rates were 42% for both povorcitinib dose groups, compared with 29% for placebo, according to the Nature Medicine paper. The researchers reported odds ratios of 1.6 for both povorcitinib doses in STOP-HS1, and 1.8 and 1.9 for the 45 mg and 75 mg doses in STOP-HS2.
What is povorcitinib?
Povorcitinib is an oral Janus kinase 1 inhibitor, according to the study authors. In these trials, researchers tested whether daily povorcitinib could reduce hidradenitis suppurativa activity in adults with moderate-to-severe disease.
The safety findings through week 12 were broadly similar for serious treatment-emergent adverse events across the povorcitinib and placebo groups, according to the researchers. Across STOP-HS1 and STOP-HS2, those events occurred in 1% to 2% of patients receiving povorcitinib, versus 2% to 3% of patients receiving placebo.
Through week 54, the investigators reported serious adverse events in 5% of patients receiving povorcitinib 45 mg and 6% of patients receiving povorcitinib 75 mg. The paper said the findings support further consideration of oral povorcitinib as a treatment option for moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa.
The authors disclosed that several researchers had ties to biopharmaceutical companies. The disclosure included Incyte Corporation, which is developing povorcitinib and partly funded the study.
This story draws on original reporting from Medical Xpress.