Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda (TAK)) just dropped some impressive results from a Phase 3 study that pitted its AI-designed drug, zasocitinib (TAK-279), directly against Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s (Bristol-Myers (BMY)) Sotyktu (deucravacitinib) in adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. And the numbers are pretty striking.

In the LATITUDE Atlas head-to-head study, zasocitinib showed statistical superiority over Sotyktu on the primary endpoint — the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) 100 response rate at week 16. That means more patients on zasocitinib had their skin completely cleared of psoriasis lesions. The drug also beat Sotyktu on all key secondary endpoints, including PASI 90 (90% improvement) and a score of 0 on the Static Physician's Global Assessment (sPGA) at week 16. Safety-wise, zasocitinib was generally well tolerated with no new red flags.

"In this head-to-head study, zasocitinib clearly demonstrated superior skin clearance compared with deucravacitinib, highlighting clinically meaningful differences within the oral treatment class," said Linda Stein Gold, principal investigator for the study. "As expectations for oral therapies continue to rise, these findings support the potential of zasocitinib to help transform what patients and physicians can expect from an oral option in plaque psoriasis."

Chinwe Ukomadu, senior vice president and head of Takeda's Gastrointestinal & Inflammation Therapeutic Area Unit, added: "These head-to-head results build on the strong efficacy seen across our Phase 3 program, with more than 35% of zasocitinib-treated patients achieving complete skin clearance (PASI 100) at week 16 – more than 2.5 times the response rate for deucravacitinib – and separation from the deucravacitinib curve as early as week 8."

What makes zasocitinib particularly interesting is that it was developed using artificial intelligence. That's a growing trend in pharma — using AI to speed up drug discovery, streamline clinical trials, and even reduce animal testing. Takeda has big hopes for this drug: last year, the company said that if approved, zasocitinib could generate peak annual sales of $3 billion to $6 billion.

Takeda plans to present the full data from this head-to-head study at upcoming medical conferences, building on the Phase 3 LATITUDE PsO results it recently shared at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting. The company is on track to submit a New Drug Application for plaque psoriasis to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulators starting this fiscal year.

Investors seem pleased: Takeda shares were up 0.61% at $15.77 on Thursday.