In recent years, there has been an explosion in the range of therapies for immunological diseases, with the treatment paradigm for conditions like eczema and psoriasis undergoing a fundamental shift towards the routine use of targeted biologics that offer more profound, durable benefits with convenient administration.
At the 35th European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) annual congress, held in Vienna, Austria, between 30 September and 3 October, key industry players, researchers and clinicians gathered to discuss the latest developments across conditions like atopic dermatitis (AD), psoriasis and more.
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Clinical Trials Arena takes a look at the highlights from the conference, with key readouts from notable pharma players like Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson (J&J), as well as biotechs like Nektar Therapeutics and Evommune.
Nektar’s rezpeg touts eczema treatment durability at one-year mark
At this year’s EADV conference, all eyes turned to the up-and-coming drugs that could shape the future of the AD treatment paradigm – with San Francisco-based biotech Nektar Therapeutics’ Treg-selective IL-2 pathway agonist, rezpegaldesleukin (rezpeg), bearing no exception to the rule.
During the conference, Nektar presented data from the maintenance period of the Phase IIb REZOLVE-AD study (NCT06136741), in which patients were given a monthly or quarterly dose of rezpeg for up to 52 weeks. In this trial, researchers observed that rezpeg-treated patients experienced sustained disease control on both the monthly and quarterly doses – with a meaningful proportion achieving a 75% and 90% improvement in the spread and severity of their eczema, as well as a reduction in itch at 52 weeks.
On top of this, 22% and 18% of patients receiving monthly and quarterly rezpeg in the maintenance arm, respectively, experienced full skin clearance at week 52. Rezpeg’s safety profile was also favourable and consistent with prior studies within the maintenance study period.
The positive maintenance outcomes in AD will be welcome news for Nektar, which recently initiated a Phase III programme for rezpeg in AD. The company also plans to begin a Phase III trial on rezpeg in alopecia areata early next year.
According to William Blair analysts, this EADV readout provides further evidence that rezpeg provides “a material durability advantage over current standard-of-care options” in AD, though they note that rezpeg has been shown to trigger high levels of injection site reactions versus placebo – potentially “posing an overhang on rezpeg’s target product profile”.
Pfizer’s trispecific brings high skin clearance rates in mid-stage study
Alongside Nektar, Pfizer also debuted new data at EADV 2026, with the company announcing that its IL-4 x IL-13 x TSLP-targeting trispecific antibody, tirekimig, posted a win during a Phase II trial (NCT05995964) testing the drug in biologic-naïve patients with AD.
In this mid-stage study, a 400mg, 200mg and 50mg once-four-weekly tilrekimig triggered significant 49.4%, 51.9% and 38.7% improvements in the percentage of patients achieving an eczema area and severity index (EASI) score of 75% or higher at 16 weeks over placebo – meeting the trial’s primary endpoint. According to Leerink analysts, this result surpasses the efficacy of Sanofi and Regeneron’s eczema drug, Dupixent (dupilumab) and “other AD therapies in development”.
As per an exploratory analysis, tilrekimig also offered improvements in the proportion of patients achieving a meaningful itch reduction of four points or more on the weekly average peak pruritus numerical rating scale over placebo. Across all groups, the treatment-prompted differences in itch ranged from 35.3% to 43.6%.
Pfizer’s trispecific was also well tolerated in the study, with the rate of conjunctivitis and injection site reactions being comparatively lower than that of the IL-4 receptor alpha inhibitor drug class.
While Leerink analysts tout this data as positive, they caveat that there was not a clear dose response in the dataset. Now, they are looking ahead to the results of the head-to-head trial evaluating tilrekimig against Dupixent – which is expected to reach primary completion in 2028 – to assert if the drug can outperform one of the current standard of care (SOC) options in the AD market.
J&J’s psoriasis pill offers two-year benefit in hard-to-treat patients
While AD was a key focus of the EADV 2026 conference, many also came to catch up with the latest data in psoriasis, as the industry watches the emerging oral market with interest following the landmark US approval of J&J’s Icotyde (icotrokinra) in March. Now, J&J has shared new two-year data highlighting Icotyde’s potential to benefit patients aged 12 years and above with difficult-to-treat psoriasis.
According to data presented at the congress, the oral IL-23R inhibitor demonstrated sustained skin clearance through to week 112, with 70% of patients reaching clear or almost clear skin at this time point. Of the treated individuals, 60% and 89% experienced full clearance of their scalp and genital psoriasis, while Icotyde prompted 63% and 62% of patients to achieve full clearance of hands and/or feet and nail psoriasis at the same time point.
The drug was also well tolerated in this study, with researchers identifying no new safety signals linked to treatment with Icotyde.
According to Jefferies analysts, Icotyde is continuing to set a high benchmark for oral therapies in psoriasis, due to its “durable responses extending to two years, strong complete-clearance rates, and uniquely extensive data in scalp, genital, hand/ foot, and nail psoriasis”.
With this positive data in hand, J&J may be one step closer to challenging the current dominance of AbbVie’s injectable therapy, Skyrizi (risankizumab) and Bristol Myers Squibb’s (BMS) oral drug, Sotyktu (deucravacitinib), in plaque psoriasis. Currently, analysts at GlobalData, parent company of Clinical Trials Arena, forecast that Icotyde will gain blockbuster status in 2028, with sales estimated to head north of $5bn by 2032.
Evommune’s IL-18 inhibitor intrigues analysts
In another development for the eczema treatment pipeline, California-based biotech Evommune shared positive data from its proof-of-concept Phase IIa study on its novel, long-acting IL-18 inhibitor, EVO301, in patients with moderate-to-severe forms of the disease.
During a late-breaking presentation at EADV 2026, Evommune shared that its fusion protein candidate demonstrated therapeutic activity at week 12 “comparable to dose-optimised marketed biologics at week 16”, with the drug triggering a 55% mean reduction in EASI scores from baseline at this time point versus 22% in the placebo arm. Researchers observed this effect eight weeks after the last dose, though statistically significant improvements in EASI were seen as early as week four.
EVO301’s skin-clearing efficacy also deepened past week four to week 2 following two administrations, highlighting the drug’s potential to offer benefits to patients at a low dosing schedule.
The drug was also well tolerated, with no serious or severe treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) observed, and no cases of conjunctivitis.
According to William Blair analysts, full details from this study, as well as further clarity on what doses will progress to Phase IIb, will “further elucidate the product profile and positioning of EVO301 in the large AD market”.
To progress EVO301’s development further, Evommune is planning to begin a Phase IIb dose-ranging trial in mid-2027.
