By Sahil Pandey
Sept 30 (Reuters) – Merck said on Wednesday its experimental drug significantly reduced inflammatory skin lesions in patients with a chronic skin disease, meeting the main goal of a mid-stage study.
The results bolster Merck’s push into immunology and could position the drug, tulisokibart, as a potential new treatment option for hidradenitis suppurativa, also known as acne inversa, which causes small, painful lumps to form under the skin.
In the study, 72% of patients who received the highest dose of tulisokibart achieved at least a 50% reduction in inflammatory skin lesions after 16 weeks, compared with 35% of patients on placebo.
About 41% of patients receiving the highest dose of the drug also achieved a tougher measure requiring at least a 75% reduction in lesions, compared with 15% on placebo, Merck said.
The company added that safety was comparable between treatment and placebo groups.
BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said the data was highly competitive with both approved and experimental hidradenitis suppurativa treatments.
The results, along with what Seigerman described as clean safety signals, have increased confidence in the broader development of tulisokibart in other inflammatory indications, he said.
Merck acquired tulisokibart through its $10.8 billion purchase of Prometheus Biosciences in 2023.
Tulisokibart, which succeeded in a late-stage chronic bowel disease study in June, is among the drugs Merck is counting on to help offset the eventual loss of exclusivity on Keytruda, its blockbuster cancer immunotherapy, later this decade.
Tulisokibart targets a protein linked to inflammation and tissue scarring, a key driver of disease progression in hidradenitis suppurativa.
The results validate the drug’s mechanism and represent a compelling opportunity for development across a broad range of immunological indications, analysts said.
RBC Capital analysts project the market for hidradenitis suppurativa treatments to exceed $10 billion by 2035.
Other promising candidates, including Novartis’ remibrutinib as well as AbbVie’s upadacitinib and lutikizumab, are being developed to target different drivers of inflammation and disease progression.
Currently approved treatments for the condition include AbbVie’s Humira, Novartis’ Cosentyx and UCB’s Bimzelx.
(Reporting by Sahil Pandey in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
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