Celgene's Otezla meets in Phase III for Behcet's disease

Celgene Corp. (NASDAQ:CELG) reported data from the Phase III RELIEF trial in 207 active Behcet's disease patients with oral ulcers showing that twice-daily oral 30 mg Otezla apremilast (CC-10004) met the primary endpoint of reducing the area under the curve (AUC) for the number of oral ulcers from baseline to week 12 vs. placebo (129.5 vs. 222.1, p<0.0001). The company said the AUC assesses the change in the number of oral ulcers over time, accounting for the clinical characteristic that oral ulcers repeatedly remit and recur.

Otezla also met the secondary endpoints of improving oral ulcer pain (p<0.0001), Behcet's Syndrome Activity Score (p<0.0001), Behcet's Disease Current Activity Index (p=0.0335) and quality of life (QOL) (p=0.0003) at week 12 vs. placebo. Data were presented at the American Academy of Dermatology meeting in San Diego...