ARQT - Arcutis Bio shelves plans for Phase 2a ARQ-252 trial in vitiligo shares fall 5%

Arcutis Biotherapeutics (ARQT) down 5.5% premarket after announcing its decision to terminate the Phase 2a clinical trial evaluating ARQ-252, a topical small molecule inhibitor of Janus kinase type 1, as a potential treatment for vitiligo (ARQ-252-213).The decision is based on further analyses of the ARQ-252 drug formulation used in both this vitiligo study and the recently completed Phase 2b study for the treatment of chronic hand eczema. As previously announced, the Phase 2b chronic hand eczema study did not meet its primary endpoint, with none of the ARQ-252 arms achieving statistical significance vs. vehicle.Further analyses pointed toward inadequate local drug delivery to the skin as a key driver of the lack of efficacy.” The vitiligo study is not being terminated for any safety or tolerability reasons.

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Arcutis Bio shelves plans for Phase 2a ARQ-252 trial in vitiligo, shares fall 5%