Joselyn Kirby, MD: Future Research Into Povorcitinib for Hidradenitis Suppurativa

Joselyn R. Sciacca Kirby, MD, spoke in her latest HCPLive interview on the future of research for hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) patients, citing her encouraging views following the strong results for povorcitinib with HS in recent findings.

Kirby is known for her work as an associate professor and Vice Chair for Education at Penn State Health’s Department of Dermatology.

In her team’s recent phase 2 clinical trial data on povorcitinib, a JAK1 inhibitor, they found that average efficacy for adult participants with HS was sustained for each treatment group after switching to 75 mg once-daily following 16 prior weeks of other doses.

“I think that we were all optimistic based on some of the early studies published in the literature of multiple JAK inhibitors showing that they are really pretty effective at decreasing the inflammation across all the different lesion types,” Kirby explained.

She further added that for HS patients who may not be responding to currently available therapeutics, this potential future treatment option may open new doors.

Kirby was also asked about future research opportunities with this data, and she spoke about her outlook in this space.

“So I think there's a couple of really exciting things that are going to come out: number 1, this phase 2 study, where there's a long term extension, and people were allowed to drop down to lower doses,” she said. “Because I think all of us, including our patients, probably want people on the least amount of medicine necessary to really get them under control, but maybe keep them under control. So it'll be really interesting to see, from that long term extension data, can we get by with a lower dose after we get people under control?”

Kirby added that the success of the molecule made her feel positive in her outlook on the future of research into HS treatment options.

“I have nothing but optimism for treatment of hs going forward,” she said. “Not just because of this molecule, but of all the work being done by so many groups to, number 1, figure out what is happening within the skin in people who have HS and (figuring out) how do we target that in the most effective and, hopefully, most safe way for our patients?”

For further information on Kirby’s team’s research, watch the full HCPLive interview segment above.