Socrodeucitinib for psoriasis phase 2 trial

[Fred]

Based on efficacy and safety exposure-response analysis results, a dose of 12 mg daily is selected for the Phase III trial. Longer-duration and larger trials of this drug are required to further confirm the efficacy and safety in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis patients.

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Background:
Tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2), a key part of the inflammatory cascade responses, plays an integral role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. Socrodeucitinib, an oral, TYK2 allosteric inhibitor, selectively inhibits TYK2 cytokine signalling pathways in psoriasis pathogenesis.

Objectives:
To evaluate the efficacy and safety of socrodeucitinib in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

Methods:
In this phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 125 patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1) to receive socrodeucitinib at 6 mg, 12 mg or placebo orally, once daily, for 12 weeks. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with a 75% or greater reduction from the baseline in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score at week 12.

Results:
At week 12, significantly more patients treated with socrodeucitinib achieved a 75% reduction from baseline in PASI score compared with placebo (28.6% at 6 mg, 72.1% at 12 mg vs. 7.5% for placebo, p < 0.05 and p < 0.001, respectively). At the 12 mg dose, socrodeucitinib resulted in significantly higher response rates compared to placebo, with 46.5% of patients achieving PASI 90 (p < 0.001) and 11.6% achieving PASI 100 (p < 0.05). The treatment of socrodeucitinib also led to significantly higher proportions of patients achieving sPGA responses of 0 or 1 compared to placebo: 33.3% at 6 mg and 65.1% at 12 mg versus 10% for placebo (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001, respectively). Most common adverse events included upper respiratory tract infection which demonstrated a certain dose dependency. Most treatment-related adverse events were mild or moderate, and serious adverse events were infrequent, with no clinically meaningful abnormal trend in laboratory parameters.

Conclusions:
Socrodeucitinib demonstrated significantly greater clearing of psoriasis plaques compared to placebo in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and illustrated a favourable safety and tolerability profile, warranting further investigation in longer-duration and larger trials.

Source: onlinelibrary.wiley.com

*Funding: Changzhou Hengbang Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

[mataribot]

Where do they come up with these names?

[Waine]

AI gives an explanation

Pharmaceutical names like socrodeucitinib might sound like mouthfuls, but they are built like linguistic Lego sets following strict rules established by the World Health Organization (WHO) through the International Nonproprietary Name (INN) system.

When regulators standardise a generic drug name, it is broken down into distinct functional parts:
The Anatomy of Socrodeucitinib
Prefix (Unique)socro-+Infix (Chemical Modification)-deu-+Stem (Drug Class/Mechanism)-citinib
1. The Stem: -citinib

    What it means: Standard stem for Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors (including selective TYK2 inhibitors).

    Why it’s used: Whenever you see a drug name ending in -citinib (like tofacitinib, baricitinib, or deucravacitinib), it tells clinicians immediately that the drug blocks JAK family signaling pathways involved in immune and inflammatory responses.

2. The Infix: -deu- (or -deucitinib)

    What it means: Indicates deuteration.

    Why it’s used: Deuterium is a heavy, non-radioactive isotope of hydrogen. Replacing specific hydrogen atoms with deuterium in a molecule slows down its breakdown by liver enzymes, allowing the drug to last longer in the body or improve target selectivity. The -deu- sub-stem gained prominence with deucravacitinib (Sotyktu) and continues in newer deuterated allosteric TYK2 inhibitors like socrodeucitinib.

3. The Prefix: socro-

    What it means: A unique, arbitrary prefix selected by the drug's developers (Hansoh Biopharmaceutical).

    Why it’s used: The WHO INN committee requires every prefix to be distinct so no two medications sound or look too similar. This prevents dangerous mix-ups when doctors write prescriptions.

Summary

    socro- = Distinct identifier for this specific molecule.

    -deu- = Features deuterium atoms in its chemical structure.

    -citinib = Inhibits JAK/TYK2 enzymes to reduce inflammation.