Tapinarof cream 1 percent once daily is safe, well tolerated, and durably effective for adults with mild-to-severe psoriasis, according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology .

Bruce Strober, M.D., Ph.D., from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues assessed long-term safety, efficacy, remittive effect, durability of response, and tolerability of once-daily tapinarof 1 percent cream among adults with mild-to-severe plaque psoriasis. The analysis included 763 patients who completed a 12-week trial and subsequently enrolled for 40-week open-label treatment and four-week follow-up.

The researchers found that 40.9 percent of patients achieved complete disease clearance (Physician Global Assessment [PGA] score, 0), and 58.2 percent entering with PGA ≥2 achieved PGA of 0 or 1. For patients achieving a PGA of 0, the mean duration of off-therapy remittive effect was 130.1 days. No new safety signals were seen, and the most common adverse events included folliculitis (22.7 percent), contact dermatitis (5.5 percent), and upper respiratory tract infection (4.7 percent).

"Tapinarof may represent a novel nonsteroidal topical therapy that addresses limitations of current therapies," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, including Dermavant, which manufactures tapinarof and funded the study.

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