Incyte has expanded its support for projects tackling unmet needs to cover hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) patients, tightening its ties to the community ahead of filings for approval in the indication.
The drugmaker launched its Incyte Ingenuity Awards program in 2020 to provide financial backing to initiatives addressing the specific needs of underserved patient communities, starting with graft-versus-host disease and vitiligo. By October 2024, Incyte had distributed 13 awards to patient advocacy organizations and healthcare institutions working on projects to improve the lives of people with the two conditions.
Now, Incyte is applying the playbook to the chronic inflammatory skin condition HS. The theme for the first year of HS-focused awards is “Empowering Patients on their HS Journey.” Applicants can use that theme as a guide and inspiration, according to this week's announcement (PDF), but the five-person jury, which includes doctors and patient advocates, is open to all proposals detailing “thoughtful, creative and original” initiatives aimed at improving life with HS.
“At Incyte, we believe the best way to create meaningful change is by listening to the people most impacted,” Matteo Trotta, general manager of U.S. dermatology at Incyte, said in the release. “The Incyte Ingenuity Awards in HS is built on the voices of patients and advocates who have shared their experiences and ideas with us.”
The judging panel, which will not receive advice or input from Incyte, is accepting applications until the end of March. Successful applicants will receive either up to $35,000 or up to $100,000. Incyte said the two-tier system, which lines up with the awards previously doled out in the other two therapeutic areas, is intended to support projects of different scales.
Incyte has set up the new awards program in the run-up to the potential approval of its JAK1 inhibitor povorcitinib in HS.
The company is planning to file for povorcitinib approval in the EU this year and get a submission to the FDA by early 2026. Incyte has linked the drug candidate, which could become the first oral HS treatment, to reductions in abscesses and inflammatory nodules in phase 3 trials.
Povorcitinib is one of three drugs Incyte plans to launch next year, the others being an extended-release formulation of ruxolitinib and Opzelura in atopic dermatitis in Europe. On an earnings call last week, Incyte CEO Bill Meury said “launch activities for each product remain on schedule, including preparations for the sales force, payer engagements and medical education initiatives.”