HS News
On the first of each month we gather the HS news we can find, starting with the UK and Ireland, then further afield. Much of it is clinical and dry. We put it in one place, so that you can access it and keep learning.
September 2026
Medscape: three EADV late-breakers, three different targets
3 October 2026 (stays in September 2026 this once).
Medscape’s congress report covers three controlled HS late-breakers from Vienna: tulisokibart (TL1A), abdakibart (IL-1 beta, phase 2 LOTUS), and a mechanism analysis of lutikizumab (IL-1 alpha and IL-1 beta).
For tulisokibart, Medscape’s high-dose / placebo figures don’t match MSD’s company release — keep the company numbers from item 3 (72% high dose, 35% placebo), don’t blend them.
For abdakibart, Medscape says HiSCR75 was 42.2% (150 mg every 2 weeks) and 42.9% (300 mg every 4 weeks) versus 25.6% on placebo, in 167 people. For lutikizumab, Medscape reports neutrophil counts in lesional skin fell by 40% at the highest dose, and IL-1 beta expression by 81.3% (153-person study plus a 14-person open-label set). AbbVie’s own 30 September release lists the late-breaker and posters but doesn’t give those percentages. Phase 3 is described as underway or planned — congress report, not a licence.
Dermatology Advisor: izokibep IHS4 results through week 32
1 October 2026 (stays in September 2026 this once).
English write-up of EADV poster P1369 — same IHS4 analysis thread as item 5 (NCT05905783). IHS4-55 at week 12: 49.1% on izokibep versus 33.6% on placebo; at week 16: 49.2% versus 31.0%. By week 32, IHS4-55 was 52.3% in people who stayed on izokibep and 44.5% in people who switched from placebo at week 16. Week-32 rates on continuous izokibep for IHS4-75, IHS4-90, and IHS4-100: 41.1%, 30.3%, and 20.5%.
Study: 258 adults, 160 mg once weekly versus placebo, placebo crossover at week 16. Same registry caveat as item 5 — trial listed terminated after the sponsor stopped internal development in this indication in 2024.
UCB: earlier bimekizumab use and tunnel counts at EADV 2026
30 September 2026.
UCB put out post-hoc analyses from the phase 3 BE HEARD I and II trials and the BE HEARD EXT open-label extension at EADV in Vienna. At three years, complete resolution of inflammatory lesions (IHS4-100) was 47.4% in the shortest disease-duration quartile (under 2.38 years; n=97) and 33.3% in the longest (10.74 years or more; n=81).
On tunnels: at one year, 30.7% of patients in the bimekizumab total group were free of all tunnels (draining and non-draining), compared with 14.5% at baseline. UCB says these are observed-case, post-hoc analyses and should be read with caution. The extension registry (NCT04901195) lists the study completed, completion date 22 July 2026.
MSD: phase 2b tulisokibart met HiSCR50 in HS
30 September 2026.
MSD said the phase 2b study MK-7240-012 of tulisokibart (an antibody against TL1A) met its week-16 HiSCR50 primary endpoint for the high and medium doses. Company figures: high dose 480 mg every 2 weeks, 72% (n=42); medium dose 480 mg every 4 weeks, 64% (n=42); placebo 35% (n=44).
HiSCR75 was 41%, 40%, and 29% across high, medium, and low doses, versus 15% on placebo — MSD calls those numerical, not ranked secondary wins. Serious adverse events were 2.4%, 2.4%, and 4.8% versus 2.3% on placebo. MSD said no serious or opportunistic infections, and that the data will shape a phase 3 HS programme. This is still phase 2. Registry NCT06956235: 149 enrolled, active not recruiting, primary completion listed 2 April 2026.
Affibody: new izokibep phase 3 analyses at EADV 2026
30 September 2026.
Affibody announced new analyses of its global phase 3 study of izokibep (an IL-17A inhibitor) at EADV. HiSCR75, HiSCR90, and HiSCR100 at week 16 were higher on izokibep than placebo across subgroups (body weight under or over 100 kg, smoking, Hurley II or III, and prior TNF-inhibitor use).
IHS4 at week 12: IHS4-55 49.1% versus 33.6% (p=0.007); IHS4-75 32.8% versus 18.6% (p=0.005); IHS4-90 23.6% versus 8.1%; IHS4-100 17.5% versus 6.4% (p=0.004). Nearly one in five on izokibep reached IHS4-100 at week 12. Study: NCT05905783.
Important context: ClinicalTrials.gov lists that trial as terminated. The sponsor’s August 2024 note said internal development in this indication was discontinued — not for safety reasons. These 2026 congress analyses are of that study. Not a new ongoing trial.
HS Foundation: preview of joint AAD/HSF clinical guidelines
21 September 2026.
The HS Foundation news index says president Haley Naik has written about nearly two decades of HS care — from no approved therapies to three FDA-approved options and a growing pipeline. The post says a joint American Academy of Dermatology / HS Foundation clinical management guideline is coming, and that whether it changes care depends on access, research, and maintenance.
This is the news-index paragraph only — the full op-ed wasn’t a separate URL opened in Erin’s pass. Opinion preview, not the guideline text itself.
EU medicines committee recommends Povofortay (povorcitinib) for HS
18 September 2026 (CHMP opinion 17 September).
EMA’s human medicines committee recommended a marketing authorisation for Povofortay (povorcitinib) — an oral JAK1 inhibitor — for active moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa in adults. The opinion says it would be the first oral daily treatment for adults whose disease hasn’t responded well enough to an anti-TNF medicine, or who can’t take one. That’s a recommendation, not a European Commission licence yet.
The opinion PDF lists 45 mg and 75 mg tablets, and the most common side effects CHMP named: upper respiratory tract infections, folliculitis, urinary tract infection, hyperlipidaemia, headache, acne, and raised creatine phosphokinase. It doesn’t publish the trial percentages.
UK note (not a separate item): NICE still has an in-progress appraisal for povorcitinib after a TNF-alpha inhibitor (ID6569). Latest timeline row on that page is 21 May 2026; committee meeting listed 8 December 2026; expected publication 13 May 2027. That’s not an NHS decision.