Guselkumab shows superiority over Humira in plaque psoriasis

New findings have been released from two pivotal Phase III studies reporting the efficacy and safety of guselkumab in the treatment of adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, says Janssen Research & Development, a unit of US health care giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ).

Data from the VOYAGE 2 study showed that patients treated with guselkumab experienced significant improvements in skin clearance and other measures of disease activity compared with placebo, and significantly greater improvements compared with the anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha treatment  Humira (adalimumab), from AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV).

VOYAGE 2 is the second Phase III study to demonstrate superior efficacy of guselkumab versus adalimumab following VOYAGE 1. Data from a third Phase III study (NAVIGATE) showed that patients who had an inadequate response following treatment with J&J’s anti-interleukin (IL)-12/23 monoclonal antibody (MAb) Stelara  (ustekinumab) and who then switched to guselkumab, showed significantly greater improvements in skin clearance compared with patients who continued to receive ustekinumab. These Phase III data are being presented at the 2017 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, March 3-7.