Rapid Onset of Action and Quality-of-Life Improvements in Chinese Patients with Plaque Psoriasis Treated with Calcipotriol plus Betamethasone Dipropionate Aerosol Foam in a Randomized Phase 3 Trial

INTRODUCTION: The aerosol foam formulation of calcipotriol/betamethasone dipropionate (Cal/BD) is an efficacious topical treatment for psoriasis. This study evaluated the efficacy of Cal/BD foam versus ointment in Chinese patients, on the basis of investigator-assessed and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) from a 4-week clinical trial, including post hoc analyses after 2 weeks of treatment. METHODS: A randomized, investigator-blind, active-controlled, parallel-group phase 3 trial was conducted in China. Native Chinese adults (≥ 18 years) with plaque psoriasis involving 2-30% of the body surface area (BSA), with at least mild disease severity according to the Physician's Global Assessment (PGA), and modified Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (mPASI) ≥ 2 were randomized 1:1 to receive either Cal/BD foam or ointment once daily for a 4-week treatment period. Efficacy was assessed at weeks 0, 2, and 4 using mPASI, PGA, BSA, Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI), Psoriasis Symptom Inventory (PSI), and Subject's Global Assessment of disease severity (SGA). RESULTS: A total of 302 patients were randomized to each treatment. Both groups had clinically meaningful improvements across all outcome measures from baseline to week 2, with sustained or further improvements at week 4. For Cal/BD foam-treated patients, mean change from baseline in mPASI was -59.87% at week 2 (versus ointment: -54.59%; P = 0.010) and -74.69% at week 4 (versus ointment: -70.22%; P = 0.043). Other investigator-assessed outcomes based on mPASI and PGA showed statistically significant treatment differences favoring Cal/BD foam at week 4. Improvements in PROs (DLQI, PSI, and SGA) were numerically slightly greater with Cal/BD foam than ointment, though not statistically significant. For Cal/BD foam-treated patients, mean change from baseline in DLQI was -3.9 at week 2 (versus ointment: -3.7; P = 0.5012) and -5.5 at week 4 (versus ointment: -5.3; P = 0.5119). CONCLUSIONS: Cal/BD foam showed rapid onset of action with clinically meaningful improvements in signs, symptoms, and quality of life in Chinese patients with plaque psoriasis. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05919082. Plaque psoriasis is the most common type of psoriasis, a chronic disease affecting the skin and other body systems. Plaques are thick, scaly patches of skin that can be itchy and painful, limiting patients' everyday activities. Plaque psoriasis has a major impact on quality of life, comparable with the impact of other chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease. Many treatments, such as creams, tablets, and injections, can improve plaque psoriasis, but they do not always work well for everyone. In a clinical trial in China, we tested two treatments-a foam and an ointment-that have the same amount of two active ingredients: calcipotriol (Cal) and betamethasone dipropionate (BD). The goal was to find out if Cal/BD foam, which is the newer treatment, worked as well as Cal/BD ointment in Chinese men and women with plaque psoriasis. The trial participants were randomly distributed into two groups, each with 302 participants. One group applied Cal/BD foam on their plaques and the other group applied Cal/BD ointment, both once daily for 4 weeks. Both groups had meaningful improvements in psoriasis signs and symptoms as well as quality of life already after 2 weeks, with sustained or further improvements after 4 weeks. Overall, the improvements were slightly greater with Cal/BD foam than with Cal/BD ointment.