Takeda (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) has reported that zasocitinib demonstrated statistically significant superiority over Bristol Myers Squibb's Sotyktu (deucravacitinib) across all primary and key secondary endpoints in a Phase III head-to-head trial, with more than 35% of patients achieving complete skin clearance at week 16 — more than 2.5 times the rate observed with deucravacitinib. The result is the most consequential data readout in the oral psoriasis class since deucravacitinib's FDA approval in September 2022, and directly challenges the only currently approved oral TYK2 inhibitor in plaque psoriasis.
Trial data
The LATITUDE Atlas study (TAK-279-PsO-3004) is a Phase III, randomized, multicenter, double-blind trial that enrolled 606 adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Participants received zasocitinib 30 mg once daily or deucravacitinib 6 mg once daily for 16 weeks. The primary endpoint — PASI 100 response rate at week 16 — was met with statistical superiority for zasocitinib. Key secondary endpoints, including PASI 90 and static Physician's Global Assessment (sPGA) score of 0 at week 16, were also statistically superior. Separation from the deucravacitinib curve was detectable as early as week 8. The safety profile was consistent with previous zasocitinib studies, with no new signals identified.
These results build on earlier Phase III data from the LATITUDE PsO 3001 and 3002 studies, presented at the American Academy of Dermatology in April 2026, in which approximately 70% of zasocitinib-treated patients achieved clear or almost clear skin at week 16 versus roughly 30% for apremilast. The PASI 100 rate in LATITUDE Atlas exceeds the approximately 29%–32% complete clearance rates reported for BMS's deucravacitinib in its own pivotal trials, though cross-trial comparisons are limited by differences in patient populations, study designs, and endpoints.
Competitive context