Corvus pill shows promise in early-stage eczema trial

Adam Feuerstein is a senior writer and biotech columnist, reporting on the crossroads of drug development, business, Wall Street, and biotechnology. He is also a co-host of the weekly biotech podcast The Readout Loud and author of the newsletter Adam’s Biotech Scorecard. You can reach Adam on Signal at stataf.54.

Corvus Pharmaceuticals reported updated results Tuesday from an early-stage study of an oral treatment for eczema that has the potential to be more effective than currently approved drugs, including the blockbuster therapy Dupixent.

After eight weeks, 75% of participants treated with the Corvus pill, called soquelitinib, achieved at least a 75% improvement in the extent and severity of skin lesions — an efficacy metric known as EASI 75 — compared to 20% of participants offered a placebo, the company said.

The study also found that 33% of treated participants achieved clear or almost clear skin after eight weeks, as assessed by physicians, compared to none of the participants in the placebo group. 

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