Ixekizumab, Consentyx show efficacy in year-long treatment of psoriasis

WASHINGTON — Research from two separate studies showing year-long efficacy results of for ixekizumab and Cosentyx treatments for psoriasis were presented at a late-breaking research forum at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting.

“Intermediate long-term [studies] show good, continuous efficacy,” Joel M. Gelfand, MD, MSCE, who served as moderator for the session, told Healio.com/Dermatology. “But we still need longer studies to reflect a real-world setting that will be 2, 3, 4 years of these therapies.”

Joel M. Gelfand

Andrew Blauvelt, MD, FAAD, discussed efficacy and safety results of a phase 3 trial of continuous use of ixekizumab (Eli Lilly) over a 60-week period. Ixekizumab is an IgG4 monoclonal antibody that selectively binds with interleukin 17A (IL-17A) cytokine and inhibits its interaction with the IL-17 receptor. The trial was conducted for 60 weeks in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

Initial results of the trial, which compared different induction doses of ixekizumab with Enbrel (etanercept, Amgen) and placebo, were published last year, Blauvelt reported.

The 60-week study focused on patients who were treated with ixekizumab from week 0 throughout the entire 60 weeks.

When Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) scores 75, 90 and 100 from week 12 were compared with week 60, the researchers found that the scores had improved.

“Ixekizumab showed very high efficacy in moderate-to-severe psoriasis patients with continuous use in week 0 to week 60 with little problems in terms of safety,” Blauvelt told Healio.com/Dermatology. “The bottom line is that the drug works well over time.”

Diamant Thaci, MD, presented data showing Cosentyx (secukinumab, Novartis) demonstrated superior efficacy compared with Stelara (ustekinumab, Janssen) in clearing skin lesions in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in a 52-week study.

“Previous data had shown superiority for secukinumab over ustekinumab in the short term, and today’s result showed that there was continued superiority over the entire 52-week period, both in terms of efficacy and quality of life for patients,” said Blauvelt, who served as an investigator on the study. – by Bruce Thiel

Reference:

F053. Late-Breaking Research: Clinical Trials. Presented at: American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting; March 4-8, 2016; Washington, DC.