Tulisokibart Shows Promise in Hidradenitis Suppurativa

— Phase IIb results suggest TL1A inhibition could target fibrosis associated with the disease

Results from a phase IIb studyopens in a new tab or window presented at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereologyopens in a new tab or window meeting in Vienna showed promising efficacy with tulisokibart, an investigational tumor necrosis factor-like cytokine 1A (TL1A) inhibitor, in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS).

In this exclusive MedPage Today video, Alexa Kimball, MD, MPH, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, discusses the findings, including the potential for TL1A inhibition to affect the scarring and fibrosis associated with HS. She also discusses the early safety findings and what researchers will be watching as the program moves forward.

Following is a transcript of her remarks:

This is the first program to test a new mechanism of action, which is TL1A in HS. It is part of the family of cytokines related to tumor necrosis factor, although [it] works through a different part of the pathway. And the efficacy data that we saw at week 16 in this early-phase study is among the top-tier efficacy results we have seen to date in phase II programs. So we're really looking forward to seeing the results, both in terms of how the therapies will benefit our patients potentially, but also helping to explain the biology of this really complicated condition.

One of the interesting things about the TL1A mechanism is that it affects a number of different immune cells across the portfolio of both innate and adaptive immunity, but it also may have an antifibrotic action.

Scar tissue is a really important element of hidradenitis suppurativa, both in how the disease progresses, where it forms these infiltrating tunnels under the skin, but then also can leave these what we call rope-like scars and almost plaques of scars in certain parts of the body.

So if this mechanism pans out to have some effects at either preventing those scars or softening those scars over time, it would be an additional win. Lots to figure out here and caveats around how that will work out and even how we're going to measure it, but it certainly is a compelling part of this mechanism as we start to evaluate it further.

The safety data was also reassuring and very consistent with what we're seeing across TL1A programs and other indications as well. And so again, we're really looking to see how that safety data set matures, but it looked good in this very early program.