Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) announced positive findings from key clinical evaluations regarding its therapies Tremfya and Carvykti. The results pertain to treatments for psoriatic arthritis and multiple myeloma, respectively.
In a Phase 4 study known as STAR, the IL-23 inhibitor Tremfya met its primary and main secondary endpoints for biologic-naive adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis presenting axial involvement. The study used magnetic resonance imaging to confirm axial disease. At Week 24, patients receiving Tremfya showed notable improvement in composite disease activity scores measuring spinal pain, morning stiffness, fatigue, and joint symptoms compared to a placebo. The therapy also reduced axial symptoms and decreased inflammation in the sacroiliac joints. The safety profile remained consistent with previous evaluations, with no new safety signals identified.
Separately, long-term follow-up data from Cohort A of the Phase 2 CARTITUDE-2 study for the CAR T-cell therapy Carvykti was released. The study followed 20 patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who had one to three prior treatment lines and were refractory to lenalidomide. At a median follow-up of 60.7 months, 50% of patients remained alive and progression-free at five years without ongoing maintenance therapy. Overall survival reached 69.2%, while median progression-free survival stood at 60.5 months. Among three patients evaluated for minimal residual disease at five years, all tested negative at the deepest level. Long-term remission occurred even in individuals with high-risk cytogenetic features. Safety findings aligned with prior data, with no new CAR T-cell-related neurotoxicity reported. One patient developed acute myeloid leukemia, and two deaths resulted from progressive disease and new cancer.
At the time of publication, Johnson & Johnson shares were down 0.20% to $270.24.
