Merck's Tulisokibart Shows Promise in Treating Chronic Skin Disease

Merck's experimental drug tulisokibart has shown promise in treating hidradenitis suppurativa, a chronic skin disease that causes painful lumps to form under the skin.

In a mid-stage study, 72% of patients who received the highest dose of tulisokibart achieved at least a 50% reduction in inflammatory skin lesions after 16 weeks, compared with 35% of patients on placebo.

The results also showed that about 41% of patients receiving the highest dose of the drug achieved a tougher measure requiring at least a 75% reduction in lesions, compared with 15% on placebo.

Merck acquired tulisokibart through its $10.8 billion purchase of Prometheus Biosciences in 2023 and is counting on it to help offset the eventual loss of exclusivity on Keytruda, its blockbuster cancer immunotherapy, later this decade.