Belgium-based Janssen Pharmaceutical's Tremfya (guselkumab) was found to be superior to Cosentyx (secukinumab) for the primary endpoint evaluated at week 48 of a phase three trial in adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, it was reported yesterday.

The phase 3 trial, called ECLIPSE, enrolled 1,048 patients to assess the efficacy and safety of Tremfya in comparison to Cosentyx. Tremfya is an interleukin (IL)-23-targeted biologic therapy and Cosentyx is an IL-17 inhibitor owned by Novartis.

The company revealed that 84.5% of patients, who were subjected to Tremfya, had indicated an improvement of around 90% in their baseline Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) score at week 48. This was in comparison to 70% of patients on treatment with Cosentyx.

Tremfya is approved in the US and Europe or the treatment of adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.