Introduction Uses How it works Precautions and contraindications Administration and monitoring Benefits Disadvantages Side effects and risks
Deucravacitinib is a selective oral tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor for the systemic treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis and other immune-mediated diseases.
Deucravacitinib (SOTYKTU™) was first approved in September 2022 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and subsequently in the European Union (EU) for the treatment of adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy.
Deucravacitinib was later approved in Japan for treatment of plaque psoriasis, generalised pustular psoriasis, and erythrodermic psoriasis.
Further clinical trials are underway to explore the efficacy of deucravacitinib for treatment of other immune-mediated diseases such as:
Deucravacitinib is the first-in-class oral tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor that acts via allosteric inhibition of the TYK2 regulatory pseudokinase (JH2) domain.
The precise mechanism of action explaining the link between TYK2 inhibition and therapeutic effectiveness of deucravacitinib is currently unknown. It is postulated that TYK2 pairs with other Janus kinase enzymes to stimulate cytokine-mediated inflammatory responses. Deucravacitinib targets this pathway to suppress the immune response; see: Janus kinase inhibitors.
Deucravacitinib is a systemic therapy taken as a once-daily oral tablet.
Monitoring:
The POETYK PSO-2 phase III study found that 53% of patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis using deucravacitinib had a reduction of 75% or more in their Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score after 16 weeks, compared to 9.4% of patients taking placebo, and 39.8% of patients on apremilast.
Deucravacitinib is conveniently administered, as it is an oral medication that can be taken at any time of day, with or without food. Ease of use is analogous to other plaque psoriasis therapies.
Clinical trials extending up to 52 weeks have shown that deucravacitinib is generally well tolerated.
Common side effects include:
Mucocutaneous side effects:
Uncommon side effects:
Serious adverse events:
Approved datasheets are the official source of information for medicines, including approved uses, doses, and safety information. Check the individual datasheet in your country for information about medicines.
We suggest you refer to your national drug approval agency such as the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), UK Medicines and Healthcare products regulatory agency (MHRA) / emc, and NZ Medsafe, or a national or state-approved formulary eg, the New Zealand Formulary (NZF) and New Zealand Formulary for Children (NZFC) and the British National Formulary (BNF) and [British National Formulary for Children ](http://bnfc.nice.org.uk/ (BNFC).
