Leerink says Incyte’s povo trial results disappoint, drug likely to be approved

Leerink analyst Andrew Berens notes that Outperform-rated Incyte (INCY) has reported the results of the two parallel Phase 3 trials evaluating povorcitinib in hidradenitis suppurativa, STOP-HS1 and STOP-HS2. Although both trials hit statistical significance on the primary endpoint, the results are below that seen in Phase 2 and fell short of investor expectations and other agents with data in HS, the firm says. Based on the topline results, Leerink thinks potential usage will be mostly in patients who have already received a biologic or in biologic-naive patients who have a high preference for an oral alternative, unless the improved activity in biologic experienced patients is suggestive of a potential synergy that can be explored in the 1L setting, which will likely require an additional trial. The firm thinks the drug is likely to be approved, but the commercial relevance beyond the biologic experienced setting remains to be determined, driven primarily by the oral proposition.