Secukinumab demonstrates superiority over narrow‐band ultraviolet B phototherapy in new‐onset moderate to severe plaque psoriasis patients: Week 52 results from the STEPIn study

Background Biologic treatments have been studied mainly in patients with a long‐term history of psoriasis and previous treatment failures. Objectives The purpose of this primary analysis of the STEPIn study is to determine whether early intervention with secukinumab in patients with new‐onset moderate to severe plaque psoriasis is superior to standard of care treatment with narrow band ultraviolet B (nb‐UVB) phototherapy. Methods The STEPIn study is a randomized, open‐label, multicentre study to investigate early intervention with 52 weeks of secukinumab 300 mg administered subcutaneously versus standard treatment with nb‐UVB phototherapy in patients with new‐onset (≤12 months) moderate to severe plaque psoriasis (NCT03020199). The primary and additional secondary endpoints were ≥90% improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI 90) at Week 52 and Investigator's Global Assessment (IGA mod 2011) 0/1 response at Week 52, respectively. Results In the secukinumab and nb‐UVB study arms, 77/80 and 76/80 randomized patients received at least one dose of study treatment, respectively. The primary endpoint was achieved: 91.1% (70/77) of patients achieved a PASI 90 response at Week 52 in the secukinumab arm versus 42.3% (32/76) in the nb‐UVB arm (p