Doctors and investors are getting their first glimpse of the data that compelled Takeda Pharmaceutical to make a $6 billion bet on an experimental pill. The drug, which it acquired from Boston biotech Nimbus Therapeutics last month, blocks a key lever in the immune system that Takeda believes has the potential to treat numerous autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.
In an intermediate-stage clinical study of 259 people with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, the highest dose of the daily pill completely cleared itchy and painful patches of skin in one-third of the patients after 12 weeks. “We’re offering the potential for a functional cure,” Andrew Plump, Takeda’s president of research and development, said in an interview.
The results were impressive for other patients too. Nearly half of the patients on the high dose had 90 percent of their psoriasis cleared. And two-thirds of the patients had 75 percent of their psoriasis cleared — compared with 6 percent of patients who received a placebo. Takeda announced the results Saturday morning and will present them at a medical conference for dermatologists in New Orleans over the weekend.
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