Cytochroma looking to hand off CTA018 for psoriasis

Among the myriad potential roadblocks between a treatment being theorized and its eventually reaching patients is a drug candidate's not fitting in with its creator's corporate plan. In other words, companies sometimes begin developing a potential treatment but later decide to focus on other (perhaps more promising) products, or they decide that a product in their pipeline no longer fits with their strategic plan moving forward. For the patient, this means a potentially helpful treatment can be jettisoned or delayed.

An example of this phenomenon can be seen in the news that Cytochroma, which is in Phase Two testing with CTA018 cream, a vitamin D analog, for plaque psoriasis, has decided to focus instead on its kidney disease products and license or sell its rights to CTA018:

Cytochroma also has been developing treatments for cancer and psoriasis, but won't be pushing forward with those, Messner said. That includes a compound aimed at psoriasis that is in Phase II clinical trials.

"We're not abandoning it - we're looking for a partner to take that (psoriasis) product over," he said. "Our focus is on chronic kidney disease."

You can learn more about CTA018 and other treatments being developed for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis on our site here: Hope: Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Drugs in Clinical Trials.