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Patients with psoriasis treated with Taltz reported improvements in work productivity

Patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis who were treated with Taltz reported improvement in work productivity between 12 and 60 weeks compared with patients treated with placebo and, in some incidences, those treated with Enbrel, according to study results.

April W. Armstrong, MD, MPH, of the Keck School of Medicine at USC, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and colleagues conducted three multicenter, randomized, double-blind, phase 3 trials between December 2011 and April 2015, which included adult outpatients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis.

April W. Armstrong

Patients were randomly assigned subcutaneous placebo, or 80 mg Taltz (ixekizumab, Eli Lilly and Company) every 2 weeks or every 4 weeks in the UNCOVER-1 trial. Patients in the UNCOVER-2 and UNCOVER-3 trials had the same three treatment groups, plus a treatment arm of Enbrel (etanercept, Amgen) 50 mg twice weekly. In the UNCOVER-1 and UNCOVER-2 trials, maintenance of initial ixekizumab response was measured during a randomized withdrawal period following week 12 through week 60.

Patients completed the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment-Psoriasis (WPAI-PSO) questionnaire, which was administered at baseline and week 12 for all studies. In the UNCOVER-1 and UNCOVER-2 trials, the questionnaire also was administered at weeks 24, 36, 52 and 60.

There were 1,296 patients (mean age, 45.7 years; 68.1% male) randomized in UNCOVER-1, 1,224 patients (mean age, 45 years; 67.1% male) randomized in UNCOVER-2 and 1,346 patients (mean age, 45.8 years; 68.2% male) randomized in UNCOVER-3.

There were significantly greater improvements in WPA-PSO scores in the two ixekizumab-treated cohorts compared with the placebo-treated arm in the UNCOVER-1 trial, including absenteeism, presenteeism, work productivity loss and activity impairment. The UNCOVER-2 and UNCOVER-3 trials produced similar results, with the exception of absenteeism for patients receiving ixekizumab every 4 weeks in the UNCOVER-2 trial.

In the UNCOVER-2 trial, patients treated with ixekizumab also had greater improvements in WPAI-PSO scores compared with etanercept for presenteeism, work productivity loss and activity impairment. In the UNCOVER-3 trial, patients treated with ixekizumab had greater improvement in activity impairment compared with those in the etanercept arm.

The week 12 WPAI-PSO scores showing improvements were sustained through at least week 60.

“The positive effect of ixekizumab treatment on WPAI-PSO scores that are reported here are consistent with other biologic agents,” the researchers concluded. “Although not directly tested here, it is expected that less impairment in work productivity would be associated with a reduction in the productivity-related cost burden to the patients, the patient’s family and to society.” – by Bruce Thiel

Disclosure: Armstrong reports being a consultant for and receiving honoraria from AbbVie,
Amgen, Janssen, Merck, Eli Lilly and Company, Novartis and Pfizer, and receiving grant support from AbbVie, Janssen and Eli Lilly and Company. Please see the full study for a list of the other researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.