Incyte has released some promising results regarding their new topical psoriasis treatment, INCB18424.  Patients with mild to moderate plaque psoriasis have reported up to 54% improvement after using this treatment.

INCB18424 is a cellular inhibitor, blocking some of the immune system’s functionality in particular.  Specifically it blocks JAK (Janus Kinase 1&2), which affect cytokine activity within the immune system.

Why is this a good thing?  The general consensus amongst the medical community is that psoriasis makes the immune system going haywire, which produces those notoriously psoriatic symptoms (scaly, itchy, irritated skin).  Thus, blocking some aspects of the body’s immune system will most likely block psoriasis flare ups.

INCB18424 is expected to have longer lasting effects and it should be more easily tolerated by a larger number of patients then the corticosteroids (a kind of steroid) and other topical treatments that are in everyday use right now for treating psoriasis.

INCB18424 has not yet been released for use by the general public.