Wedoany.com Report-Dec.19, Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical announced on Thursday that its experimental once-daily oral drug, zasocitinib, achieved positive results in two late-stage clinical studies for plaque psoriasis, a chronic skin condition.

The company reported that more than half of the patients with plaque psoriasis in both studies achieved clear or almost clear skin after 16 weeks of treatment.

Takeda intends to submit marketing applications to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory authorities in 2026.

If approved, zasocitinib would enter a competitive plaque psoriasis treatment market that includes established oral medications such as Bristol Myers Squibb's Sotyktu and Amgen's Otezla, as well as injectable therapies like Johnson & Johnson's Tremfya, AbbVie's Skyrizi, and Novartis' Cosentyx.

"These (zasocitinib) data outstrip Sotyktu and look as good or better than oral IL‑23s like icotrokinra — this is close to a best‑case scenario," TD Cowen analyst Michael Nedelcovych said.

He added that he remains cautious on the overall oral psoriasis opportunity, but is receptive to Takeda's $3 billion to $6 billion peak sales target.

Zasocitinib provides a convenient daily oral option in a market where injectable treatments currently dominate. Plaque psoriasis causes red, scaly skin patches due to an overactive immune response.

"The level of efficacy that we're seeing, combined with the safety profile (and) with the convenience of administration, is quite unique in this landscape," Andy Plump, president of R&D at Takeda, told Reuters in an interview.

Takeda acquired zasocitinib from Nimbus Therapeutics in 2022 through a deal valued at up to $6 billion. Nimbus originally identified the compound using artificial intelligence, reflecting a growing trend in the pharmaceutical sector to speed up drug discovery.

Plump stated that Takeda plans to integrate AI as a core component of its medicine discovery process and added that the company "has aspirations to enable all drug discovery and drug development with AI".

The successful trial outcomes highlight the potential of AI-assisted drug development in addressing unmet needs in dermatology.