Huge Plaque Psoriasis Breakthrough at Eli Lilly

By Chris Lange Updated Jan 30, 5:27PM EST · Published Aug 13, 11:00AM EDT

Eli Lilly and Co. (NYSE: LLY | LLY Price Prediction) shares made a handy gain on Tuesday after the firm announced results from its late-stage study for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Ultimately, the Phase 4 Ixora-R study of Taltz (ixekizumab) met the primary and all major secondary endpoints up to week 12.

A total of 1,027 patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis were enrolled in the study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Taltz compared to Tremfya.

At 12 weeks, Taltz met the primary endpoint by demonstrating superiority in the proportion of patients achieving complete skin clearance compared to Tremfya as measured by a Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) score of 100.

Additionally, Taltz met all major secondary endpoints up to week 12, which include superiority over Tremfya in the proportion of patients achieving a PASI score of 75 at Week 2, PASI 90 at weeks 4 and 8, and PASI 100 at weeks 4 and 8. Eli Lilly plans to share results on the remaining key secondary endpoint of the proportion of patients achieving PASI 100 at 24 weeks in 2020.

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Andrew Blauvelt, M.D., MBA, dermatologist and president of Oregon Medical Research Center in Portland, Oregon, commented:

Completely clear skin and rapid relief of symptoms are possible for many people living with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, and should be two topics dermatologists discuss with their patients. Head-to-head data like these are important and will help inform individual treatment goal discussions between healthcare providers and their patients.

Lotus Mallbris, M.D., Ph.D., vice president of immunology development at Eli Lilly, commented:

Lilly’s goal is to raise the treatment bar for people living with psoriasis. And research shows that patients want clear skin and rapid improvements. We’re pleased to see that Taltz helped more people achieve 100 percent skin clearance compared to TREMFYA at week 12. These positive results reinforce that Taltz is an important treatment option for people with this disease.

Shares of Eli Lilly traded up about 1% at $114.89 on Tuesday, in a 52-week range of $101.27 to $132.13. The consensus price target is $123.75.

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About the Author Chris Lange →

Chris Lange is a writer for 24/7 Wall St., based in Houston. He has covered financial markets over the past decade with an emphasis on healthcare, tech, and IPOs. During this time, he has published thousands of articles with insightful analysis across these complex fields. Currently, Lange's focus is on military and geopolitical topics.

Lange's work has been quoted or mentioned in Forbes, The New York Times, Business Insider, USA Today, MSN, Yahoo, The Verge, Vice, The Intelligencer, Quartz, Nasdaq, The Motley Fool, Fox Business, International Business Times, The Street, Seeking Alpha, Barron’s, Benzinga, and many other major publications.

A graduate of Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, Lange majored in business with a particular focus on investments. He has previous experience in the banking industry and startups.