Five recent developments in psoriasis

Research finding that patients with severe psoriasis who were treated with biologic agents had reduced coronary artery disease progression was among recent developments reported on Healio.com/Dermatology.

Other recent study findings included 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 or, in some instances, Enbrel:

Biologics may reduce coronary artery disease progression in patients with psoriasis

Patients with severe psoriasis who were treated with biologic agents had reduced coronary artery disease progression, according to study results recently published in JAMA Dermatology.

Researchers in Denmark conducted a prospective, observer-blinded clinical study at a tertiary dermatology university clinic. They enrolled 58 patients with severe psoriasis from April 11, 2011 to June 30, 2014. Read more

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. Read more

Psoriasis linked to increased risk for SCC in women

Women with a personal history of mild-to-severe psoriasis may have an elevated risk for nonmelanoma skin cancer, particularly squamous cell carcinoma, according to recently published study results.

Researchers evaluated data from two ongoing cohort studies: The Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and the NHS II. Diagnoses of nonmelanoma skin cancer, including squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC), were determined by self-report questionnaires. Read more

FDA advisory committee recommends approval of brodalumab for psoriasis

The Dermatologic and Ophthalmic Drugs Advisory Committee appointed by the FDA has voted 18-0 to recommend approval of brodalumab injection, 210 mg, for treating adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, according to Valeant Pharmaceuticals International.

The committee’s recommendation, including conditions related to product labeling and post-marketing/risk, will be considered by the FDA as part of its review of the biologics license applications for brodalumab, a novel human monoclonal antibody that targets the interleukin-17 receptor. There have been reports of suicidal ideation and behavior with the product, according to the release. Read more

Sandoz reports that biosimilar candidate to Enbrel meets efficacy endpoint as psoriasis treatment

Sandoz, a division of Novartis, recently announced that the study comparing safety and efficacy of its biosimilar candidate to Enbrel met its primary endpoint at week 12.

The biosimilar candidate to Enbrel (etanercept, Amgen) and the originator product, etanercept, were compared for safety and efficacy in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque-type psoriasis, and data results were presented at Psoriasis 2016, the 5th Congress of the Psoriasis International Network, Paris, according to a press release from Novartis. Read more