Can a blister beetle extract banish common warts? phase 3 trial investigates
NCT ID NCT07637734
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Sep 04, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This Phase 3 trial tests YCANTH, a topical solution containing cantharidin (a substance from blister beetles), against a placebo for treating common warts. About 300 people aged 2 and older with at least one wart on their body (excluding certain areas) will receive either the active treatment or a vehicle control. The main goal is to see if YCANTH can completely clear all treatable warts by day 84, with a secondary focus on sustained clearance.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- YCANTH (cantharidin topical solution)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide a proven, safe topical treatment for common warts, potentially clearing them without invasive procedures.
- What could go wrong
- This is a Phase 3 trial, but results may not apply to all wart types or locations. Some people may not respond, and side effects like blistering or pain are possible.
Why investors are watching
Verrica Pharmaceuticals is running COVE-3, a late-stage trial of its wart treatment YCANTH in 300 people with common warts. For a micro-cap company with few products, this readout is a key test of whether its main drug can win approval for a broader use. A clear result matters because the company's value rests heavily on this single medicine.
If it works: If the trial shows YCANTH safely clears common warts better than the placebo vehicle, Verrica could seek approval for a much larger patient group. That would give the company a second, bigger market for its only commercial product.
If it fails: Phase 3 trials often fail, and a negative or unclear result here would leave Verrica without a path to expand YCANTH's approved uses. A delay in the readout could also strain a company of this size, which depends on this drug for future revenue.
AI-written from the trial record. Speculative, and not investment advice.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 3
Large-scale testing in a bigger group. Usually the last step before a treatment can be approved.
- Participants
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About 300 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2026
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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2 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: Candidates will be included in the study if they: 1. Are male or female patients ≥ 2 years of age. 2. Are immunocompetent. 3. Have a minimum of 1 treatable common wart (verruca vulgaris) of any size and height: 1. Common warts are considered treatable if they are located anywhere on the body, except for the following excluded areas: the eye area (including eyelids), lips, oral cavity, nasal cavity, inside of the ears, soles of the feet (plantar warts), subungual spaces (ie, under the fingernail or toenail), or the anogenital area (warts within 10 mm of a mucosal surface should not be treated). 2. Common warts located in excluded areas (warts within 10 mm of a mucosal surface) will not be treated or evaluated in this study. Warts that are genital, plantar, or anal are not considered common warts and are thus excluded from treatment and evaluation in this study. A subject will not be excluded from the study if they have these types of warts, but the subject must also have warts that meet the inclusion criteria. • If treatment of these excluded wart types is required during the study, it should be limited to destructive therapy such as cryosurgery and warts cannot be within 10 mm of any warts that are under study. 4. Have no systemic or dermatologic disorder, which, in the opinion of the Investigator, will interfere with the study results or increase the risk of AEs. 5. Agree to refrain from swimming, bathing, or prolonged immersion in water or any liquids until the study drug is removed after each treatment. 6. Have the ability, or have a parent/guardian with the ability, to follow study instructions and the willingness to complete all study requirements. 7. Agree not to use any wart-removing product (prescription or over-the-counter) other than the study drug during the course of the study, with the exception of circumstances allowed under Inclusion Criterion 3b. 8. Provide written informed consent or assent in a manner approved by the IRB and/or have a parent/guardian provide written informed consent as evidenced by the signature on an IRB approved assent/consent form. Subjects who turn 18 years of age (or legal age per state or country) during the study will be required to re-consent to remain on the study. 9. Provide written authorization for use and disclosure of protected health information (per state and/or country requirements). 10. If participating in the optional photographic assessment, agree to allow photographs of treatable common warts to be taken at selected visits by the research team. Exclusion Criteria: Candidates will be excluded from the study if they: 1. Are unable to cooperate with the requirements or visits of the study, as determined by the Investigator. 2. Have any warts present at Baseline in an allowed anatomic location that the subject, parent/guardian, or Investigator is unwilling to treat. 3. Plantar warts and external genital warts will not be included in this study, in addition, subungual warts and warts within 10 mm of a mucosal surface will not be included in this study due to their anatomical location and complex treatment modalities. 4. Are systemically immunosuppressed or have taken required systemic immunosuppressive or immunomodulatory medication (including oral or parenteral corticosteroids) within 30 days before enrollment or such treatment is planned to be required during the course of the study. Routine use of local (eg, topical, inhaled, intranasal) corticosteroids and episodic use of systemic medications to treat conditions arising during the study is allowed. 5. Have any chronic or acute medical condition that, in the opinion of the Investigator, may interfere with the study results or place the subject at undue risk (eg, human immunodeficiency virus, systemic lupus erythematosus, viral hepatitis, uncontrolled diabetes). 6. Have had any previous treatment (including an investigational agent in a clinical trial) of common warts, including but not limited to the use of cantharidin, imiquimod, antivirals, retinoids, topical salicylic acid, lactic acid, hydrogen peroxide, trichloroacetic acid, pulse dye laser, iodine-based or nitric oxide-based therapies, oral cimetidine, coix seed, intralesional immunotherapy, curettage, or freezing of warts in the 30 days before treatment. 7. Have more common warts, or wart area, to be treated than can be adequately covered with the contents of 2 study drug applicators, as determined by total wart surface area. Each applicator can cover approximately 1500 mm2 for a total of approximately 3000 mm2 using the 2 study drug applicators. 8. Immunizations (eg, flu shots) may be administered throughout the study, but not within 5 days before or after any treatment with study drug and will be recorded as concomitant therapies in the eCRF. 9. Have received any investigational product as part of a clinical trial NOT related to the treatment of common warts within 30 days before the first application of the study drug. 10. Have epidermodysplasia verruciformis. 11. Have an active malignancy or are undergoing treatment for any malignancy other than basal cell carcinoma. 12. Have a history or presence of clinically significant medical, psychiatric, or emotional condition or abnormality that, in the opinion of the Investigator, would compromise the safety of the subject or the quality of the data. 13. Have a history or presence of hypersensitivity or an idiosyncratic reaction to the study drug or related compounds, or drug product excipients (acetone, ethyl alcohol, nitrocellulose, hydroxypropyl cellulose, castor oil, camphor, gentian violet, and denatonium benzoate). 14. Have a condition or situation that may interfere significantly with the subject's participation in the study (eg, subjects who required hospitalization in the 2 months before screening for an acute or chronic condition including alcohol or drug abuse), as determined by the Investigator. 15. Are sexually active or may become sexually active and are unwilling to practice a highly effective method of birth control (eg, combination of condoms and foam; oral contraceptives; intrauterine device with or without hormone release; transdermal, injectable, or intravaginal contraception). Withdrawal is not an acceptable method of birth control. Females who have reached menarche must have a negative urine pregnancy test at each visit before treatment with study drug. 16. Are pregnant or breastfeeding.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
18 sites in 2 countries. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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APEX Clinical Trials
RECRUITINGJacksonville, Florida, 32256, United States
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Austin Institute for Clinical Research
RECRUITINGPflugerville, Texas, 78660, United States
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DelRicht Research
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGOverland Park, Kansas, 66209, United States
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DelRicht Research
ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITINGBaton Rouge, Louisiana, 70809, United States
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Dermatology and Ophthalmology Kume Clinic
RECRUITINGSakai, Osaka, 593-8324, Japan
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Endeavor Health
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGSkokie, Illinois, 60077, United States
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Japanese Red Cross Saitama Hospital
RECRUITINGSaitama, Saitama, 330-8553, Japan
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LENUS Research & Medical Group, LLC
RECRUITINGSweetwater, Florida, 33172, United States
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MetroBoston Clinical Partners
RECRUITINGBrighton, Massachusetts, 02135, United States
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Midwest Children's Health Research Institute
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGLincoln, Nebraska, 68516, United States
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Minnesota Clinical Study Center
RECRUITINGNew Brighton, Minnesota, 55112, United States
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Noguchi Dermatology Clinic
RECRUITINGKamimashiki-gun, Kumamoto, 861-3106, Japan
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Ohyama Dermatology Clinic
RECRUITINGKumamoto, Kumamoto, 861-4101, Japan
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Pansy Skin Clinic
RECRUITINGSaitama, Saitama, 330-0064, Japan
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Research Institute of the Southeast, LLC
RECRUITINGWest Palm Beach, Florida, 33401, United States
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Sapporo Dermatology Clinic
RECRUITINGSapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0063, Japan
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Sumire Dermatology Clinic
RECRUITINGTokyo, Tokyo, 133-0052, Japan
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Tampopo Dermatology Clinic
RECRUITINGTokyo, Tokyo, 143-0023, Japan
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UNMC - Children's Hospital & Medical Center
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGOmaha, Nebraska, 68114, United States
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West Dermatology Research Center
NOT_YET_RECRUITINGSan Diego, California, 92121, United States
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