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 The study tested the drug, BMS-986165, in 267 patients with plaque
psoriasis, a chronic condition that causes dry, red skin lesions
covered with silvery scales.
After 12 weeks, between 67 percent and 75 percent of patients given
a 3-milligram dose twice daily, or a higher dose, showed reduction
on a scale called PASI-75 that is considered the benchmark of main
goals for most psoriasis clinical trials.
The PASI-75 scale showed reduction versus 7 percent in the placebo
group. It measures the effectiveness of a drug by recording how many
patients achieve a reduction in the area affected and severity of
their psoriasis.
The drug is a tyrosine kinase 2 inhibitor, a class of medicines that
work to regulate overactive immune responses that drive autoimmune
diseases.
Three cases of serious side effects were reported, but none of those
were in patients given the 6-mg and the 12-mg doses, the highest
being tested, the company said.
Bristol-Myers said it plans to study the drug's use in a "wide
spectrum of immune-mediated diseases", saying currently only few
oral treatment options are available.
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The company is currently enrolling patients for a late-stage trial
and also testing BMS-986165 for use in patients with lupus or
Crohn's disease.
An approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the plaque
psoriasis treatment will offer Bristol-Myers, which relies heavily
on its blockbuster cancer drug Opdivo, a chance to diversify its
portfolio.
The FDA earlier this year declined to approve Bausch Health Cos
Inc's plaque psoriasis lotion Duobrii and analysts now expect that
drug to hit market only after 2019.
(Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj
Kalluvila)
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