Topical Ruxolitinib in the Treatment of Adults With Pyoderma Gangrenosum (TRIUMPH)

August 20, 2026 updated by: Alex Ortega Loayza, Oregon Health and Science University
This is a single-center, open-label, single-arm pilot study evaluating topical ruxolitinib (OPZELURA) as a treatment for adults with Pyoderma Gangrenosum (PG), a chronic inflammatory skin condition that causes painful ulcers. Approximately 12 participants will apply ruxolitinib cream twice daily for 24 weeks while continuing standard wound care, with the goal of determining whether the drug helps target ulcers heal completely without the need for systemic immunosuppressive therapy. Participants will be followed for a total of 28 weeks, with the option to continue treatment in a 48-week open-label extension if they respond well and remain safe on the drug. The study is sponsored by Oregon Health & Science University and funded by Incyte Corporation.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Pyoderma Gangrenosum is a rare, ulcerative inflammatory skin condition most commonly treated with systemic corticosteroids or cyclosporine, both of which carry significant long-term toxicity risks. Topical therapy has shown effectiveness for smaller lesions, but existing topical options (corticosteroids, calcineurin inhibitors) also carry risks with prolonged use and lack robust long-term safety data. Emerging evidence implicates the JAK-STAT signaling pathway in PG pathogenesis, with JAK1/2/3 and TYK2 found to be overexpressed in PG lesions and several PG-associated inflammatory cytokines (IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-12, IL-15, IL-23) acting through JAK-STAT-dependent mechanisms. Ruxolitinib, a selective JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor already FDA-approved as a topical cream for atopic dermatitis, has not previously been studied for PG in a clinical trial; prior evidence is limited to case reports of oral JAK inhibitors used off-label for PG.

This investigator-initiated trial will enroll approximately 12 adults (ages 18-99) with a PARACELSUS score >10 and a target ulcer ≤10 cm². Participants will apply ruxolitinib cream twice daily via a Topi-Click applicator for 24 weeks, continuing standard-of-care wound care throughout (cleansing, antimicrobial and hyper-absorbent dressings, compression, and debridement as needed). No additional systemic immunosuppressive therapy will be introduced during the study, though participants may remain on a stable pre-existing dose of a biologic for an associated autoimmune comorbidity.

The study includes 10 scheduled visits over 28 weeks (Screening, Weeks 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28), with select later visits available via telemedicine for participants living more than 30 miles from OHSU. Assessments include full body skin exams with ulcer measurement, high-frequency ultrasound imaging at Weeks 0, 6, 12, and 24, blood draws for safety labs (CBC, CMP, eGFR, ESR, CRP, G6PD, lipid panel) and infectious disease screening (HIV, HBV, HCV, TB), wound fluid collection for cytokine analysis, and patient-reported outcome measures (Skindex Mini, pain NRS, PHQ-9, GAD-7).

The primary endpoint is the proportion of participants achieving complete re-epithelialization of the target ulcer at Week 24. Secondary endpoints assessed by the investigator include Physician Global Assessment (PGA) scores, percent reduction in ulcer area, time to healing, time to recurrence, and treatment failure rate; secondary endpoints assessed by the participant include quality-of-life measured by Skindex Mini and pain reduction measured by NRS. Exploratory/mechanistic endpoints include changes in pro-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine expression in blood and lesional tissue, and ultrasound-based assessment of tissue remodeling during healing.

Participants who complete the study through Week 24 with a PGA score of 1-3 and no significant safety concerns will be eligible to enroll in a 48-week open-label extension, with continued dosing for as long as clinical benefit is observed, re-evaluated annually.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

12

Phase

  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

  • Name: Alexandra Shinde, MSc
  • Phone Number: 971-442-1620
  • Email: shindea@ohsu.edu

Study Contact Backup

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Willingness to comply with study procedures/requirements
  • Capable of giving informed consent
  • Diagnosis of at least one PG ulcer by clinical, histological and laboratory assessments with a maximum wound size of 10 cm2.
  • Male age 18-99 who agree to not father a child or donate sperm while on study and at least 1 week following last dose of the study drug. If subject is a sexually active male and could cause a pregnancy, subject must be sure that female partner(s) are using birth control that works well or not have sex.
  • Female age 18-99; either of non-childbearing potential or of childbearing potential who test negative for pregnancy and agree to use at least two reliable methods of birth control or remain abstinent during the study and for at least 1 week following the last dose of ruxolitinib.
  • Classic type of PG defined with PARACELSUS score >10
  • Are candidates for topical therapy. Subjects on existing immunosuppression for managing underlying comorbidities associated with PG will be considered for trial and allowed to continue these medications while on trial
  • Patients on potent immunosuppressants (azathioprine, cyclosporine) or Janus kinase inhibitors will not be considered in the study
  • Patients may be on stable dose of prednisone 10 mg or less
  • Undergoing at least once a week standard of care wound care at home or wound care facility.
  • Willingness to travel to OHSU for all study visits, or living >30 miles from OHSU and willing/able to participate in remote videoconferencing visits with access to a computer with internet and webcam capabilities.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with pyoderma gangrenosum who have more than 3 ulcers measuring total >30 cm2
  • Have history of malignancy or lymphoproliferative disease; or have signs or symptoms suggestive of possible lymphoproliferative disease, including lymphadenopathy or splenomegaly; or have active primary or recurrent malignant disease; or have been in remission from clinically significant malignancy for < 5years.
  • Patients with cervical carcinoma in situ, basal cell carcinoma or squamous cell carcinomas who have had active disease within 3 years of screening for this study.
  • Active, untreated, acute or chronic infection (such as untreated tuberculosis), or immunocompromised to an extent that such that participation in the study would pose an unacceptable risk to the subject. (Treated infections such as latent tuberculosis after completion of the appropriate therapy are not excluded.)
  • Clinically serious infection or received intravenous antibiotics for an infection, within 4 weeks of randomization.
  • Active viral infection that, based on the investigator's clinical assessment, makes the subject and unsuitable candidate for the study.
  • Positive for human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis B virus, or hepatitis C virus.
  • Symptomatic herpes zoster infection within 12 weeks of screening or recurrent or disseminated (even a single episode) herpes zoster.
  • Symptomatic herpes simplex at the time of randomization or disseminated (even a single episode) herpes simplex
  • History of disseminated opportunistic infections (e.g., listeriosis and histoplasmosis).

  • Have a history of VTE, or are considered at high risk for VTE as deemed by the investigator, or have 2 or more of the following risk factors for VTE:

    1. Aged >65 years.
    2. BMI >35 kg/m2.
    3. Oral contraceptive use and current smoker.
  • Wound care debridement of any PG ulcer within 2 weeks
  • Patients receiving regular intralesional corticosteroid treatment to manage PG or underlying comorbidities associated with PG will be allowed to continue intralesional corticosteroid treatment during screening and while on study
  • Previous exposure to a systemic JAK inhibitor (ruxolitinib, tofacitinib, upadacitinib, filgotinib) or topical JAK inhibior.
  • Clinically significant (per investigator's judgement) drug or alcohol abuse within the last 6 months preceding the Baseline Visit.
  • Had any major surgery within 8 weeks prior to baseline or will require major surgery during the study, which in the opinion of the investigator would pose an unacceptable risk to the subject.
  • Recent (within past 6 months) cerebrovascular accident, myocardial infarction, coronary stenting. Uncontrolled hypertension - confirmed systolic blood pressure >160 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure >100 mm Hg.
  • Presence of significant uncontrolled respiratory, hepatic, renal, endocrine, hematologic, neurologic, or neuropsychiatric disorders, or abnormal laboratory screening values that, in the opinion of the investigator, pose an unacceptable risk to the subject if participating in the study or of interfering with the interpretation of the data.
  • Have clinical laboratory test results at screening that are outside the normal reference range of the population and are considered clinically significant, or have any of the following specific abnormalities:
  • Neutrophil count <1500 cells/µL
  • lymphocyte count <500 cells/µL
  • platelet count <100,000 cells/µL,
  • AST or ALT > 2.5 Women who are lactating or breastfeeding.
  • Have any other condition that precludes the subject from following and completing the protocol, in the opinion of the investigator.
  • Are investigator site personnel directly affiliated with this study and/or their immediate families (spouse, parent, child, or sibling).
  • Are currently enrolled in, or discontinued from a clinical trial involving an investigational product or non-approved use of a drug or device within the last 4 weeks or a period of at least 5 half-lives of the last administration of the drug, whichever is longer, or concurrently enrolled in any other type of medical research judged not to be scientifically or medically compatible with this study
  • Have and/or are managing a substance use disorder involving opioids and/or cannabinoids

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Treatment
Treated with topical ruxolitinib thin laywer twice daily for 24 weeks.
Drug: topical ruxolitinib 1.5% cream
topical ruxolitinib 1.5% cream applied to wound bed twice daily for 24 weeks.
Other Names:
  • OPZELURA

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Complete healing of target ulcer
Time Frame: Up to 24 weeks
The proportion of patients with complete re-epithelization, defined as 100% re-epithelialization without any drainage, of the target ulcer at week 24.
Up to 24 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
PGA between 0-1
Time Frame: Through week 24

1. Assessing the proportion of patients that show target ulcer healing in response to study treatment as measured by achieving PGA between 0 and 1 after treatment with baricitinib at week-24. This scale has been used in previous trials: 0 = total resolution of target ulcer with no signs of active PG

1= almost completely healed target ulcer with only minimal signs of active PG 2 = evidence of target ulcer healing which involves at least 50% of ulcer/ulcer margin 3 = evidence of target ulcer healing which involves less than 50% of ulcer/margin 4 = no evidence of target healing ulcer
Through week 24
Number of participants with treatment-related adverse events as assessed by CTCAE v4.0
Time Frame: Through week 24
To determine the safety of ruxolitinib for the treatment of subjects with PG who are candidates for systemic therapy, by the number of participants who experienced treatment-related adverse events while on study.
Through week 24
Impact of skin disease on quality of life using Skindex Mini
Time Frame: By week 28
A 3-item questionnaire assessing three domains of quality of life impact; symptoms, emotions, and function related to skin disease on a scale of 0 (never bothered) to 5 (always bothered)
By week 28
Quality of life via Participant Global Assessment
Time Frame: By week 28
Measures an individual's overall impression of their health, disease severity, or treatment response on a scale of clear to severe.
By week 28
Quality of life via Participant Physical Function Assessment
Time Frame: By week 28
Evaluates an individual's ability to perform daily activities, mobility, strength, balance, and overall functional capacity on a scale from "no difficulty at all" to "can't do because of ulcer"
By week 28
Patient Health Questionnaire-9
Time Frame: By week 28
Measures the presence and severity of depressive symptoms over the past two weeks in 9 questions ranking on a scale of "Not at all" to "Nearly every day".
By week 28
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment
Time Frame: By week 28
Measures the severity of generalized anxiety disorder symptoms over the past two weeks in 7 questions ranking on a scale of "not at all" to "nearly every day".
By week 28
Pain improvement determined by Numeric Rating Scale (NRS)
Time Frame: Through week 24
To determine the improvement in pain by NRS scale in the last 7 days and the peak pain by NRS scale in the last 24 hours from 0 (no pain/sensation) to 10 (worst possible pain/sensation)
Through week 24
Time to healing
Time Frame: Through week 24
Determine time to healing
Through week 24
Time to recurrence
Time Frame: Through week 24
Determine time to recurrence, appearance of new ulcer after complete closure
Through week 24

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Cytokine markers changed due to treatment
Time Frame: Through week 24
Evaluation of cytokine gene expression before and after treatment in skin and blood samples
Through week 24
Evaluate imaging structures using HFUS
Time Frame: Through week 24
Use high-frequency ultrasound imaging to predict healing via the presence of hyperechoic oval structures, hair tracts, and U-shaped vessels.
Through week 24

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Oregon Health and Science University

Collaborators

Incyte Corporation

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 1, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 29, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 20, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 24, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 24, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 20, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • STUDY00028568

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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