Shares of Alumis plunged about 55% after its experimental drug for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) failed a mid-stage trial — a stark reminder of how hard lupus has been to treat.
The drug, envudeucitinib — a TYK2 inhibitor — missed all of its main and secondary objectives across three doses versus placebo in a 408-patient, 48-week study. The stumble nearly erased the gains Alumis had banked from positive psoriasis data in January.
A silver lining — and a struggling class
Alumis pointed to a bright spot: “robust” responses in patients with a high interferon gene signature (overexpressed interferon-controlled genes), a group the company says makes up a majority of moderate-to-severe SLE patients — and it plans to discuss a Phase 3 with regulators. But the broader picture is tough: multiple TYK2 inhibitors across the industry have struggled in lupus (and inflammatory bowel disease), and even Bristol Myers Squibb’s approved TYK2 drug, Sotyktu, has underperformed sales expectations in its approved uses.
Why it matters
Lupus is a notoriously heterogeneous autoimmune disease, and trial after trial has faltered. Alumis says it doesn’t foresee “significant changes” to its overall timeline and still plans a US psoriasis filing by year-end — but the lupus miss underscores both the risk in the TYK2 class and how far the field still is from reliably helping lupus patients.