Shares of Vitae Pharmaceuticals (VTAE) are up almost 50% after hours after the company announced positive proof-of-concept phase 2a results in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis. The company's drug used in the study is known as VTP-43742. Psoriasis is a disease of the skin where scaly patches that itch occur. The results were positive in both different dosing groups against a placebo. 

The lower 350 mg dose group achieved a 24% reduction of PASI relative to placebo, and the 700 mg dose group achieved a 30%  reduction of PASI compared to placebo. PASI stands for Psoriasis Area Severity Index, and it is a scale which measures psoriasis on the body. Both doses proved to be statistically significant with a p-value of p < 0.015 relative to baseline. 

The company now intends to initiate another phase 2 trial that extends out to 16 weeks and also measures safety and efficacy of VTP-43742. The good news about trials in psoriasis is that they can be very short, thus the 16 week treatment period. If Vitae can obtain positive results again in the 16-week study then it is highly possible they can push forward to a phase 3 trial and even marketing approval.