Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE:TEVA) said Tuesday it will advance its investigational anti-interleukin-15 monoclonal antibody, TEV-‘408, into a Phase 2b vitiligo trial in the fourth quarter of 2026 following early clinical data showing improved skin pigmentation and a favorable safety profile.

The decision follows results from an ongoing open-label Phase 1b study in adults with active or stable non-segmental vitiligo (NSV), a chronic autoimmune disease that causes loss of skin pigmentation. Teva said TEV-‘408 improved pigmentation and has been well-tolerated, with no safety signals reported to date.

Early Data Show Skin Pigmentation Improvements

At enrollment, 66% of participants had vitiligo affecting more than 10% of their body surface area.

Among evaluable patients at Week 24, nearly 75% reported improvements in facial vitiligo, while 50% rated their condition as “much improved” or “very much improved.”

Teva said 42% achieved F-VASI50 (at least a 50% improvement in facial vitiligo), 21% reached F-VASI75, 55% reported improvement in total body disease, and 7% achieved T-VASI50.

Phase 2b Trial Set For Fourth Quarter

Based on the Phase 1b results, Teva plans to launch a Phase 2b study in the fourth quarter of 2026.

In January, Teva and Royalty Pharma plc (NASDAQ:RPRX) announced a funding agreement worth up to $500 million to accelerate the clinical development of TEV-‘408

TEVA Stock Price Activity: Teva Pharmaceutical shares were down 1.66% at $34.70 at the time of publication on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Photo: Shutterstock