Dermavant Sciences revealed that tapinarof cream, 1% may improve disease severity in patients with intertriginous plaque psoriasis. Intertriginous plaque psoriasis, which affects about 20% to 30% of patients with plaque psoriasis, is often difficult to treat because standard therapies may result in adverse effects on the more sensitive areas of the skin. Previous phase III trials have demonstrated that tapinarof cream may be superior to vehicle.
In the open-label, single-group assignment, phase IV DMVT-505-4001 trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT05680740)—results of which were presented at the 43rd Annual Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference—researchers treated 34 patients aged 18 years and older with mild, moderate, and severe intertriginous plaque psoriasis with tapinarof cream once daily for 12 weeks. About 83% of the patients achieved an intertriginous Physician Global Assessment score of 0 or 1—with success presenting at as early as 2 weeks and after a median of 6 weeks—and a ≥ 2-grade improvement from baseline. After a follow-up of 12 weeks, 75% of the patients experienced improvement in their Peak Pruritis-Numeric Rating Scale of ≥ 4 points and 65.5% achieved an intertriginous Physician Global Assessment score of 0, indicating complete disease clearance across the intertriginous areas. “The results of this … study are meaningful because … [w]hile the rates of disease clearance are impressive, the fast onset of [tapinarof] cream and associated itch relief are particularly noteworthy. These data, combined with those of previous studies, further indicate that [tapinarof] cream is a safe and effective treatment for adult patients with intertriginous plaque psoriasis,” concluded senior study author Howard Sofen, MD, of Dermatology Research Associates.