Arena Pharma's etrasimod flunks mid-stage dermatitis study

• Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:ARNA) slumps 20% after hours in reaction to results from a Phase 2b clinical trial, ADVISE, evaluating etrasimod (APD334) in patients with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD).
• The study failed to achieve the primary endpoint of percent change in Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) at week 12 versus placebo.
• Between weeks 4-8, the trial was impacted by "unwarranted" dose interruption (not related to drug safety) in 19% (n=9) of the participants in the 2 mg arm. Adjusting for this interruption, via a post-hoc completer analysis with participants receiving full therapeutic exposure, etrasimod 2 mg showed statistically significant effect on the EASI score compared to placebo (weeks 4 and 12), EASI-75 at week 4, vIGA at week 12 and pruritis through week 8.
• About a third of the patients in the 2 mg group achieved clear or almost clear skin.
• No new safety signals were observed.
• Phase 3 studies are next up.
• Management hosted a conference call at 4:30 pm ET to discuss the results.
• https://seekingalpha.com/news/3633965-arena-pharmas-etrasimod-flunks-mid-stage-dermatitis-study-shares-down-20