WEDNESDAY, Dec. 4, 2024 -- For patients with psoriasis, the safety profile is consistent and clinical response durable with three years of deucravacitinib, according to a study published online Nov. 27 in JAMA Dermatology.

April W. Armstrong, M.D., M.P.H., from the University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, and colleagues examined the long-term safety and efficacy of deucravacitinib through three years in the randomized PSO-1/PSO-2 trials and the nonrandomized long-term extension (LTE) trial conducted in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

Overall, 513 of the 1,519 patients who received one or more doses of deucravacitinib received continuous deucravacitinib from day 1 and entered the LTE trial. The researchers found that in the one- versus three-year cumulative periods, exposure-adjusted incidence rates (EAIRs) per 100 person-years were decreased or similar for adverse events (229.2 versus 144.8), serious adverse events (5.7 versus 5.5), discontinuations due to adverse events (4.4 versus 2.4), and deaths (0.2 versus 0.3). The incidence rates of the most common adverse events during the one- and three-year cumulative periods were nasopharyngitis (26.1 versus 11.4 EAIR per 100 person-years ≥5), COVID-19 (0.5 versus 8.0), and upper respiratory tract infection (13.4 versus 6.2). For adverse events of interest, including herpes zoster, major adverse cardiovascular events, and malignant diseases, EAIRs remained low and were reduced or comparable at the one- and three-year cumulative periods. Throughout three years, clinical response rates were maintained.

"These findings provide additional support for deucravacitinib as an efficacious and well-tolerated, long-term treatment for patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to pharmaceutical companies, including Bristol Myers Squibb, which manufactures deucravacitinib and funded the study.