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Efficacy and safety of risankizumab vs. secukinumab in patients with moderate‐to‐severe plaque psoriasis (IMMerge): results from a phase III, randomized, open‐label, efficacy–assessor‐blinded clinical trial *
Author(s) -
Warren R.B.,
Blauvelt A.,
Poulin Y.,
Beeck S.,
Kelly M.,
Wu T.,
Geng Z.,
Paul C.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
british journal of dermatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.304
H-Index - 179
eISSN - 1365-2133
pISSN - 0007-0963
DOI - 10.1111/bjd.19341
Subject(s) - secukinumab , medicine , psoriasis area and severity index , psoriasis , interleukin 17 , randomized controlled trial , confidence interval , clinical endpoint , dermatology , psoriatic arthritis , cytokine
Summary Background Patients with plaque psoriasis treated with biologic therapies need more efficacious, safe and convenient treatments to improve quality of life. Risankizumab and secukinumab inhibit interleukin‐23 and interleukin‐17A, respectively, and are effective in adult patients with moderate‐to‐severe plaque psoriasis but have different dosing regimens. Objectives To compare directly the efficacy and safety of risankizumab vs. secukinumab over 52 weeks. Methods IMMerge was an international, phase III, multicentre, open‐label, efficacy–assessor‐blinded, active‐comparator study, in which adult patients with chronic, moderate‐to‐severe plaque psoriasis were randomized in a 1 : 1 ratio to treatment with risankizumab 150 mg or secukinumab 300 mg. Primary efficacy endpoints were the proportions of patients achieving ≥ 90% improvement from baseline in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI 90) at week 16 (noninferiority comparison with margin of 12%) and week 52 (superiority comparison). Results In total 327 patients from nine countries were treated with risankizumab ( n = 164) or secukinumab ( n = 163). Risankizumab was noninferior to secukinumab in the proportion of patients achieving PASI 90 at week 16 [73·8% vs. 65·6%; difference of 8·2%, 96·25% confidence interval (CI)−2·2 to 18·6; within the 12% noninferiority margin] and superior to secukinumab at week 52 (86·6% vs. 57·1%; difference of 29·8%, 95% CI 20·8–38·8; P < 0·001), thus meeting both primary endpoints. All secondary endpoints (PASI 100, static Physician's Global Assessment 0 or 1, and PASI 75) at week 52 demonstrated superiority for risankizumab vs. secukinumab ( P < 0·001). No new safety concerns were identified. Conclusions At week 52, risankizumab demonstrated superior efficacy and similar safety with less frequent dosing compared with secukinumab.