Sienna Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNNA) had news to share Monday, but the news weighed heavily on stock prices.
The company, based out of Westlake Village, Calif., a clinical-stage medical dermatology and aesthetics company, today announced top-line results from a Phase 2b study of SNA-120 (pegcantratinib), the Company’s lead drug candidate developed using its proprietary Topical by Design™ platform.
This Phase 2b study, in mild-to-moderate psoriasis patients with at least moderate pruritus (itch), was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of SNA-120 on itch (primary endpoint), as well as the underlying psoriasis (secondary endpoints).
In this study, subjects treated with SNA-120 (0.05%) achieved statistical significance, compared to vehicle, on important pre-specified regulatory endpoints of psoriasis disease severity. Subjects treated with SNA-120 also experienced a meaningful reduction in itch, although the result did not reach statistical significance against vehicle.
SNA-120 is a topical tropomyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA) inhibitor that blocks nerve growth factor (NGF) signaling, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis and itch.
SNA-120 was developed using Sienna’s Topical by Design™ platform, which yields new chemical entities (NCEs) designed to deliver high local drug concentration in the target tissue with minimal to no systemic exposure for patients.
Sienna’s multi-center, randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled Phase 2b study evaluated the safety and efficacy of two doses (0.05% and 0.5%) of SNA-120 ointment in 208 male and female patients over the age of 18 with mild-to-moderate psoriasis and with at least moderate itch.
Subjects were randomized into three groups and administered a high dose (0.5%) of SNA-120, a low dose (0.05%) of SNA-120 or vehicle twice daily for 12 weeks.
SNNA shares faded $2.27, or 22.5%, to $7.84 soon after Monday’s opening bell.
