Early Intervention in Plaque Psoriasis: is Bimekizumab Able to Delay Chronic Inflammation? (EARLYPSO)

Early Intervention in Plaque Psoriasis: is Bimekizumab Able to Delay Chronic Inflammation? Prospective Multicenter Interventional Study

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory condition driven by a complex interplay between heritable and microenvironmental factors. Genome-wide heritability for psoriasis (PsO) is estimated at up to 50%. Although bearing genetic susceptibility at birth, most patients will remain disease free for years until an exposomal trigger activates the immunological pathway that leads to the first disease flare. In rare patients, the first flare is an isolated event, but in most patients it will evolve into a chronically relapsing-remitting disease characterized by lasting lesions and recurrent flares. Primary objective is to compare efficacy of bimekizumab versus topical corticosteroids on psoriasis clinical disease activity, assessed by PGA, at week 16 and week 24.

Patients will be randomized 1:1 to receive either 320mg bimekizumab at weeks 0 (W0), W4, W8 and W12, or clobetasol ointment for 2 to 4 weeks until complete clearance of the lesion. After a maximum of 4 weeks topical clobetasol will be applied twice weekly on the site of lesion until week 16 then stopped. Patients will not receive active treatment between week 16-24. Between week 24-96 patients that flare can receive continuous topical clobetasol if needed. These patients will be considered non-responders at subsequent timepoints for the main analysis. If the patients worsen their psoriasis under the treatments given during the study and progress to moderate or severe psoriasis (PASI 10 and above) they will end their participation to the study to receive a treatment adapted to the new severity of their psoriasis. The patients will be referred to their dermatologist to receive the actual standard of care adapted to their new condition.

During the study, the following assessments will be performed and samples will be collected

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Psoriasis
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Bimekizumab; Drug: Clobetasol

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 40
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Thierry Passeron, PhD; Phone Number: +33492036488; Email: passeron.t@chu-nice.fr
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Emmanuelle Pradelli; Phone Number: +33492036488; Email: pradelli.e@chu-nice.fr

Study Locations

• France
  • Lyon, France, 69003
    • Recruiting
    • Hôpital Edouard Herriot
    • Contact: Axel VILLANI, PHD; Phone Number: +33472117211; Email: axel.villani@chu-lyon.fr
    • Sub-Investigator: axel VILLANI, PhD
  • Marseille, France, 13005
    • Recruiting
    • Höpital Saint-Joseph
    • Contact: Nathalie QUILES-TSIMARATOS, Ph; Phone Number: +33491806625; Email: nquiles@hopital-saint-joseph.fr
    • Sub-Investigator: Nathalie QUILES
  • Martigues, France, 13500
    • Recruiting
    • Cabinet Dermatologie Dr RUER
    • Contact: Mireille RUER, Ph; Phone Number: +33661944503; Email: ruerdoc@gmal.com
    • Sub-Investigator: Mireille RUER
  • Saint-Etienne, France, 42055
    • Recruiting
    • CHU Saint-Etienne
    • Contact: Jean-Luc PERROT, PhD; Phone Number: +33477828508; Email: j.luc.perrot@chu-st-etienne.fr
    • Sub-Investigator: Jean-Luc Perrot, PhD
  • Toulon, France, 83000
    • Recruiting
    • CHITS
    • Contact: Thierry BOYE; Phone Number: +33483162569; Email: thierry.boye@yahoo.fr
    • Sub-Investigator: Thierry BOYE, Ph
  • Villeurbanne, France, 69100
    • Enrolling by invitation
    • Médipole Villeurbanne
  • Alpes-Maritimes
    • Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France, 06200
      • Recruiting
      • CHU de Nice - Hôpital de l'Archet
      • Contact: Thierry Passeron, PhD; Phone Number: +33492036488; Email: passeron.t@chu-nice.fr
      • Principal Investigator: Thierry Passeron, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Men and women
2. ≥ 18 and <45 years
3. Plaque psoriasis without psoriatic arthritis
4. Patients with mild psoriasis PASI >2 and <6
5. Patient with at least one lesion on the elbows, or the knees, or the lower back to be recorded as target lesion (additional lesions in other areas on top are allowed)
6. Disease duration less than 6 months (short duration psoriasis) or >2 years (long duration psoriasis)
7. The psoriasis lesions should not having being treated by any topical treatment for at least 2 weeks

8. For women of childbearing potential, an effective contraception (estroprogestative pill, contraceptive implant, IUD, condoms or tubal ligation) should be used for more than one month before the inclusion in the study. A urine pregnancy test (βHCG in urines) will be performed.

   Thus, a woman who is permanently sterile and therefore unable to procreate should not be subjected to pregnancy tests.

   Women who are sexually abstinent are not requested to use a contraception. However, they must agree to take one if they want to become sexually active.

9. Affiliation to a social security system
10. Signed informed consent
11. Patient willing and able to attend all study visits

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Pregnant or breast-feeding women. Or women who plan to get pregnant during the study duration.
2. Concomitant use of topical or systemic immunosuppressive medication or steroids in the past 12 weeks
3. Personal history of skin cancer
4. Personal history of cancer of less than 5 years
5. Patients with active infection
6. Abnormal blood counts (neutrophils <1500/mm3 and platelets <150 000/mm3) and/or positive HIV, HVB and HVC testing at screening.
7. Patients with personal history of keloid scars
8. Patients with personal history of hypersentitivity to xylocaine and/or adrenalin
9. Vulnerable people: minors, adult under guardianship or deprived of freedom
10. Participants in other clinical therapeutic studies involving a drug that could interfere with the present evaluation

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Treatment Group Bimekizumab; Bimekizumab 320mg given at weeks wk0, wk4, wk8 and wk12	Drug: Bimekizumab; Bimekizumab 320mg given at weeks wk0, wk4, wk8 and wk12
Active Comparator: Comparator group Clobetasol; Once daily evening application of 0.05% of clobetasol ointment for up to 4 weeks. The randomization will take place at the end of V1, baseline visit, after verifying the selection criteria and written consent, by the investigator in charge of the patient in each center.	Drug: Clobetasol; Once daily evening application of 0.05% of clobetasol ointment for up to 4 weeks

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Efficacy of bimekizumab versus topical corticosteroids on psoriasis	The Physician's global Assessment is a validated method to simply assess plaque psoriasis severity using a scale ranging from 0 to 5 (Low to severe)	at 24 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
To compare patient's quality of life between BKZ and topical corticosteroids	The Dermatological Life Quality Index is the main score to assess the impact of dermatoses on the quality of life of affected individuals. The score ranges from 0 to 30, with quality of life varying from pleasant to not at all pleasant.	at 24 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Thierry Passeron, PhD, CHU de Nice, Service de Dermatologie

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 22, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 22, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 16, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 16, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): December 19, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 24, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Skin Diseases, Papulosquamous; Skin Diseases; Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases; Psoriasis; Polycyclic Compounds; Steroids; Fused-Ring Compounds; Steroids, Fluorinated; Betamethasone; Clobetasol; bimekizumab
• Other Study ID Numbers: 24-PP-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No