AAD 2026: 6 Psoriasis Trials to Know

Psoriasis as a disease state commanded a notable share of the late-breaking data presented at the 2026 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, with research spanning a broad and rapidly evolving therapeutic landscape, from established biologics accumulating long-term comparative and extension data to emerging oral medications designed to meaningfully shift how psoriasis is managed in the years to come.

Several themes ran through much of the psoriasis program, including the growing momentum behind oral targeted treatments and the continued push to validate sustained skin clearance well beyond the 16-week primary endpoints known to have historically defined the field. Nail psoriasis and generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) also featured in the data released at the meeting, reflecting a broader effort to address the full clinical spectrum of psoriatic disease. The following 6 updates from AAD represent key trials clinicians managing psoriasis should know:

1. ONWARD: Oral Envudeucitinib Demonstrates High PASI Responses in Phase 3, With Andrew Blauvelt, MD

One set of trials from AAD was ONWARD1 and 2, highlighting new phase 3 data for envudeucitinib. This drug, a next-generation, highly selective oral TYK2 inhibitor, demonstrating robust skin clearance in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, was discussed by Andrew Blauvelt, MD, MBA, owner of Blauvelt Consulting, LLC, and principal investigator on the ONWARD program. Both ONWARD1 and ONWARD2 together enrolled more than 1700 adult patients living with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

2. Sustained PASI Responses Observed Through Week 60 with Zasocitinib, With Melinda Gooderham, MD

The LATITUDE trial program, highlighted during the AAD late-breaking data sessions, suggests zasocitinib could help to reshape the oral treatment landscape for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. The drug was shown to have a high level of skin clearance, a result typically seen with biologics. Melinda Gooderham, MD, medical director of the SKiN Centre for Dermatology in Ontario, Canada, spoke about these key findings from the pair of pivotal phase 3 studies evaluating zasocitinib against both placebo and an active comparator, apremilast.

3. Risankizumab Outperforms Deucravacitinib on Psoriasis Clearance Across Patient Subgroups in Phase 4 Head-to-Head Trial

Risankizumab was another drug with new data presented during AAD, with findings demonstrating significantly greater skin clearance than deucravacitinib at the 16-week mark across an array of patient subgroups among adults with biologic-naïve moderate plaque psoriasis. These new data resulted from a subgroup analysis of the phase 4 IMMpactful trial, with the findings highlighting subgroup populations defined by race, sex, age, smoking status, baseline disease severity, body mass index (BMI), and presence of psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

4. ICONIC-LEAD: 1 Year Icotrokinra Data Confirm Durable Psoriasis Clearance, PRO Improvements in Adults, Adolescents, With Jennifer Soung, MD

Icotrokinra was another drug spotlighted during AAD, with 1-year data from the phase 3 ICONIC-LEAD trial confirming icotrokinra delivered durable skin clearance and meaningful patient-reported improvements among adults and adolescents with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. ICONIC-LEAD investigators also identified no new safety signals through the 52-week mark. This medication became the first and only targeted oral peptide blocking the interleukin (IL)-23 receptor after being approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 18, 2026, for psoriasis.

5. Tildrakizumab Sustains Nail Psoriasis Efficacy Through 52 Weeks in Phase 3b Extension Data

New 52-week results also released during AAD showcased a phase 3b trial of tildrakizumab treatment of moderate-to-severe nail psoriasis, with these data demonstrating continued improvement in the level of nail clearance and sustained response seen among early responders, extending results first reported at last year’s AAD. Thia analysis is the first dedicated phase 3b trial of an IL-23 inhibitor in nail psoriasis.

6. EFFISAYIL ON: New Long-Term Data Released on Spesolimab Injection for GPP

Results from an ongoing open-label extension analysis were released by LEO Pharma at AAD regarding spesolimab-sbzo in adults with GPP. The EFFISAYIL ON analysis is an open-label extension trial lasting 5 years, designed to examine the long-term efficacy, safety, and tolerability of subcutaneous (SC) spesolimab in those who had previously partaken in either the EFFISAYIL 1 or EFFISAYIL 2 pivotal trials. These findings provide encouraging data suggesting this biologic agent can meaningfully diminish patients’ GPP flare burden over several years of treatment.