Presented at the 2020 Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference, October 29 - November 1, 2020.

Treatment Success in Mild Psoriasis Patients With Fixed-Combination Calcipotriene and Betamethasone 
Dipropionate (Cal/BD) Foam: Results From the PSO-FAST Trial 
Karen A. Veverka, PhD,1 Jes B. Hansen, PhD,1 Maria Yaloumis, PharmD,1 Leon Kircik, MD,2 and Linda Stein Gold, MD3
1LEO Pharma, Madison, NJ; 2Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY; Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN; Physicians Skin Care, PLLC, Louisville, KY; 3Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI

Introduction
• Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease affecting approximately 2% of the worldwide

population characterized by sharply demarcated, scaling, and erythematous
plaques that may be painful and often severely pruritic1

• While topical therapy is the regimen of choice for patients with less extensive
disease,2 very few of these therapies have been demonstrated effective for mild psoriasis
– Treatment success in this population requires that visible disease be completely

cleared (i.e., improvement of Investigator’s Global Assessment (IGA) score from 2 to 0)
• Corticosteroids and vitamin D analogues are among the most common treatments

that are either used alone or in combination2,3

• Topical, fixed-combination calcipotriene (50 µg/g) plus betamethasone dipropionate
(0.5 mg/g; Cal/BD) cutaneous foam is indicated for the treatment of plaque psoriasis
in patients 12 years and older4

– In a Phase III, double-blind, randomized study that included patients with all
severities of psoriasis (PSO-FAST), Cal/BD foam was efficacious and well tolerated,
and also provided rapid treatment responses with significant itch relief3

Objective
• To compare the efficacy of treatment with Cal/BD foam to that of treatment with

vehicle for up to 4 weeks in patients with mild psoriasis vulgaris by performing a
post hoc analysis of the PSO-FAST trial

Materials and Methods
Study Design
• PSO-FAST was a Phase III, randomized, multicenter (US), double-blind, vehicle-controlled,

4-week study (NCT01866163)
• 426 patients were randomized (3:1) to Cal/BD foam or foam vehicle once daily for

up to 4 weeks

Figure 1. Study Design

KEY INCLUSION CRITERIA

KEY EXCLUSION CRITERIA
Treatments within specified time periods prior to randomization:
• Systemic biological therapies (4-16 weeks/5 half-lives)
• All other systemic treatments (4 weeks)
• Non-marketed drugs (4 weeks/5 half-lives)
• PUVA therapy (4 weeks)
• UVB therapy (2 weeks)
• Topical anti-psoriatic treatment (2 weeks)

• ≥18 years of age
• Males and non-pregnant females
• Psoriasis diagnosis ≥6 months
• IGAa of at least mild on trunk and/or limbs
• 2-30% BSA on trunk and/or limbs
• mPASI score ≥2

RANDOMIZED
3:1

Cal/BD Foam 
self-applied 1/day (n=323)

Vehicle Foam 
self-applied 1/day (n=103)

Day 0 Week 1 Week 2 Week 4

ENDPOINT ASSESSMENTS
• Percent of patients achieving treatment

success at Week 4b
• mPASI-75 at Week 4
• Percent reduction in mPASI from baseline to

Weeks 1, 2, and 4

aInvestigator’s Global Assessment (IGA) of disease severity was scored on a 5-point scale: 0=clear, 1=almost clear, 2=mild, 3=moderate, 4=severe. 
bTreatment success for patients with mild disease severity at baseline was defined as clear (IGA=0).

Results
Patient Population
• At baseline, 65/426 patients had mild plaque psoriasis
• Baseline demographics and disease characteristics are shown in Table 1
• Overall, treatment groups were well balanced for patient characteristics and

baseline demographics within this subpopulation
• Both mean BSA and mean mPASI at baseline were comparable between groups

Table 1. Baseline Demographics and Disease Characteristics for 
Randomized Patients With Mild Psoriasis (IGA=2)

Baseline Characteristic
Cal/BD Foam 

(n=50)
Vehicle Foam

(n=15)
Overall
(N=65)

Mean Age, years 48.6 42.2 47.2

Median Age, years (range) 52.5 (19-79) 38.0 (20-74) 50.0 (19-79)

Male, % 56.0 46.7 53.8

Fitzpatrick Skin Type, %

Type I 2.0 0.0 1.5

Type II 42.0 20.0 36.9

Type III 26.0 40.0 29.2

Type IV 18.0 20.0 18.5

Type V 6.0 20.0 9.2

Type VI 6.0 0.0 4.6

Mean BMI, kg/m2 31.5 31.5 31.5

Mean PSO Duration, years 16.0 9.1 14.4

Mean BSA, % (SD) 4.5 (2.6) 5.7 (4.2) 4.8 (3.1)

Mean mPASI (range) 4.7 (2-16) 5.0 (2-8) 4.7 (2-16)

Efficacy: IGA Treatment Success
• At Week 4, significantly more patients with mild psoriasis achieved treatment

success with Cal/BD foam than foam vehicle (30.6% vs 0.0%, P<.001) (Figure 2)
– Treatment success was observed as early as Week 2 with Cal/BD foam vs vehicle

(8.2% vs 0%) (data not shown)

Figure 2. IGA Treatment Success at Week 4 for Patients With Mild, 
Moderate, or Severe Psoriasis at Baseline

30.6%

60.0%

37.9%

0.0% 4.2%
7.7%

0

25

50

75

100

Mild Moderate Severe

Tr
ea

tm
en

t 
su

cc
es

s
(%

 o
f p

ati
en

ts
)

Cal/BD Foam Vehicle Foam

P<.001

P=.019
P=.048

Mantel-Haenszel odds of treatment success in Cal/BD group relative to vehicle group.

Efficacy: Severity Outcomes
• Mild patients achieved significantly greater reductions in BSA (Figure 3A) and mPASI

scores (Figure 3B) relative to baseline with Cal/BD foam vs vehicle foam
– The significant improvements were seen as early as Week 1 and persisted to

Week 4

• mPASI-75 was significantly greater with Cal/BD foam vs vehicle foam (49% vs 7.1%,
P=.023) at Week 4 (Figure 4).

Figure 3. Psoriasis Severity Outcomes for Patients With Mild PSO 
at Baseline 

-35.5%

-55.3%

-71.9%

-15.2%
-25.0% -27.7%

-100

-75

-50

-25

0
Week 1 Week 2 Week 4

Re
du

cti
on

 in
 m

PA
SI

 
fr

om
 b

as
el

in
e 

(%
)

-1.2
-1.8

-2.7

0.1

-0.5 -0.6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1
Week 1 Week 2 Week 4

A
bs

ol
ut

e 
BS

A
 r

ed
uc

ti
on

 
fr

om
 b

as
el

in
e

A B

Cal/BD Foam Vehicle Foam

P=.007
P=.057

P<.001

P=.053

P=.003

P<.001

A, Absolute Reduction in BSA From Baseline to Weeks 1, 2, and 4. B, Percent Reduction in mPASI From Baseline to Weeks 1, 2, and 4.

Figure 4.  mPASI-75 for Patients With Mild Disease Severity at Baseline 

P=.24

P=.083

P=.023

12.2%

30.6%

49.0%

0.0%
7.7% 7.1%

0

25

50

75

100

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3

Cal/BD Foam Vehicle Foam

m
PA

SI
-7

5 
(%

)

Mantel-Haenszel odds of treatment success in Cal/BD group relative to vehicle group, adjusted for pooled center.

Conclusions
• In this post hoc analysis, once-daily fixed-dose combination Cal/BD foam was

efficacious in treating mild plaque psoriasis
– Importantly, while numerous other topical and systemic therapies

are available for psoriasis, very few have demonstrated efficacy in
this subpopulation

• These important results establish treatment success for Cal/BD foam in mild
psoriasis, a population in which efficacy is difficult to demonstrate since the
treatment must completely clear visible disease to be considered effective

• The once-daily, Cal/BD foam may provide a valuable treatment option for
patients with mild plaque psoriasis

References
1. Menter A, Gottlieb A, Feldman SR, et al. Guidelines of care for the management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. J Am Acad

Dermatol. 2009;58(5):826-850.
2. Menter A, Korman NJ, Elmets CA, et al. Guidelines of care for the management and treatment of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

J Am Acad Dermatol. 2009;60:643-659.
3. Leonardi C, Bagel J, Yamauchi P, et al. Efficacy and safety of calcipotriene plus betamethasone dipropionate aerosol foam in

patients with psoriasis vulgaris – a randomized phase III study (PSO-FAST). J Drugs Dermatol. 2015;14(2):1468-1477.
4. Enstilar (calcipotriene and betamethasone dipropionate) foam Prescribing Information, Madison, NJ: LEO Pharma, Inc.

Disclosures
Drs. KA Veverka, JB Hansen and M Yaloumis are employees of LEO Pharma Inc. Dr. Kircik has served as a research investigator, 
speaker, and consultant for LEO Pharma, Inc. Dr. L Stein Gold serves as a consultant, speaker, advisory board participant, or 
investigator for LEO Pharma inc., Taro Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., and Mayne Pharma.

Funding
This study was funded by LEO Pharma Inc.

Abbreviations
BMI, body mass index; BSA, body surface area; Cal/BD, calcipotriene/betamethasone dipropionate; IGA, Investigator’s Global 
Assessment; mPASI, modified (excluding head) psoriasis area and severity index; mPASI-75, 75% reduction in the mPASI; 
PSO, psoriasis; PUVA, psoralen combined with Ultraviolet A; SD, standard deviation; UVB, Ultraviolet B.

Acknowledgments
Editorial support was provided by p-value communications.