Once-Daily Zasocitinib Offers New Oral Option for Psoriasis

“We're entering an era where we have better oral options, and with zasocitinib, we can offer patients an oral option that's once a day that's been shown to be effective. It has a known safety profile, it seems to be well tolerated, and we can have that conversation. In the past, we might not have offered a number of oral options, or maybe we didn't even offer an oral option. Now we can really broaden that conversation,” said Linda Stein Gold, MD.

In her interview, Stein Gold, a dermatologist and the director of dermatology clinical research at Henry Ford Health in Detroit, Michigan, reviewed findings from the LATITUDE Atlas trial (NCT06973291) evaluating zasocitinib (Takeda), an investigational tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor, against deucravacitinib (Sotyktu; Bristol Myers Squibb) in adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.¹ She also described the growing case for oral therapy in this patient population and the practical burdens associated with injectable biologic treatment.

Early Separation and Skin Clearance with Zasocitinib

Stein Gold said patients typically notice skin clearing over the course of several weeks rather than days. Separation between zasocitinib and deucravacitinib emerged as early as week 8, with a substantial proportion of patients reaching complete clearance by week 16.¹

"We saw separation of zasocitinib from deucravacitinib as early as week 8, so patients started to see skin clearing, and at week 16, we saw a lot of patients getting completely clear of their psoriasis, so 35% of patients completely clear," Stein Gold said.

Zasocitinib is an oral medication taken once daily. Stein Gold noted the trial showed no new safety signals, reinforcing an efficacy and tolerability profile she said addresses an ongoing need in the oral plaque psoriasis space.

"We saw no new safety signals in this particular clinical trial, so it gives our patients an option of an oral agent," Stein Gold said.

Zasocitinib has so far only been studied in plaque psoriasis. Stein Gold said she looks forward to seeing how it performs in other inflammatory disease states.

The Case for Oral Therapy in Plaque Psoriasis

For patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, Stein Gold said the first step is recognizing the need for systemic therapy. She noted biologic agents have provided strong efficacy and safety, but injectable treatment carries practical burdens for some patients.

"For some of our patients, it's a bit of a burden to use an injection. They have to worry about refrigeration and storage, and some people are a little bit needle phobic, so they start to get anxiety around the time of that injection," Stein Gold said.

She also noted oral options like zasocitinib expand the conversation clinicians can have with patients with plaque psoriasis. She said many patients previously were not offered an oral option at all.

"Now we're entering an era where we have better oral options, and with zasocitinib, we can offer patients an oral option that's once a day that's been shown to be effective," said Stein Gold.

Stein Gold said zasocitinib carries a known safety profile and appears well-tolerated as an oral therapy. She said the option allows clinicians to broaden discussions around systemic treatment for patients with plaque psoriasis.

Reference

1. Takeda’s zasocitinib significantly outperforms deucravacitinib in head-to-head phase 3 psoriasis study, promising to redefine oral treatment expectations. News release. Takeda. June 11, 2026. Accessed July 1, 2026. https://www.takeda.com/newsroom/newsreleases/2026/zasocitinib-outperforms-deucravacitinib-study/