Once-Daily Oral Zasocitinib Delivers Rapid, Durable Skin Clearance for Psoriasis: Melinda Gooderham, MD, MSc, FRCPC

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At the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) 2026 Annual Meeting, late-breaking data was presented from the pivotal phase 3 studies Latitude PsO 3001 (NCT06088043) and Latitude PsO 3002 (NCT06108544) of zasocitinib (TAK-279; Takeda), in which the drug demonstrated rapid and durable skin clearance with a safety profile consistent with phase 2b studies.

Zasocitinib, a highly selective tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, is emerging as a promising oral option for patients with psoriasis, offering efficacy comparable to biologic therapies without sacrificing safety, according to data presented by Melinda Gooderham, MSc, MD, FRCPC, dermatologist, SKiN Centre for Dermatology, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, principal investigator for the Latitude PsO studies, and presenting author.

In the trial, the coprimary end points were static Physician’s Global Assessment (sPGA) scores and Psoriasis Area and Severity Index 75 (PASI 75) responses at week 16. Seventy percent of patients treated with zasocitinib achieved an sPGA score of 0 or 1 (clear or almost clear) compared with 30% of those receiving apremilast and 10% on placebo. PASI 75 responses mirrored these findings, in which approximately 75% of patients on zasocitinib reached PASI 75 at week 16 vs about one-third on apremilast and 10% on placebo.

Durability of response was evaluated in a randomized withdrawal period from week 40 to week 60. Patients who initially received zasocitinib and achieved PASI 75 by week 40 were rerandomized to continue zasocitinib or switch to placebo. Among those who remained on zasocitinib, more than 90% maintained sPGA status of clear/almost clear, PASI 75, and PASI 90 through week 60, underscoring the persistence of clinical benefit.

Safety findings were consistent with the mechanism of a TYK2 inhibitor. In the zasocitinib arm, acne and upper respiratory tract infections were observed, while the apremilast group experienced higher rates of diarrhea, nausea, and headache, in line with its known profile. Adverse events of special interest were rare. There were no cases of tuberculosis or major adverse cardiovascular events, and 1 case of deep vein thrombosis was reported.

Moreover, zasocitinib demonstrated marked selectivity for TYK2 over other Janus kinase inhibitors, which translated into a clean laboratory profile, with no clinically meaningful lab abnormalities through week 24. Clinically, this may allow dermatologists and payers to position zasocitinib as a biologic-like efficacy option in an oral formulation, narrowing the traditional trade-off between convenience and therapeutic potency for patients with psoriasis, according to Gooderham.