Cal/BD foam combined with Otezla effectively, safely treats moderate psoriasis
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Twice-weekly maintenance doses of calcipotriene 0.005%/betamethasone dipropionate 0.064% foam with Otezla proved to be an effective combination treatment for psoriasis, according to data published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology.
“Even in light of significant recent therapeutic advancements, many patients with psoriasis will use a combination of treatments at some point in the disease course,” Elif Ozyurekoglu, of Columbia University, and Leon H. Kircik, MD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, wrote in their study.
The researchers continued that the combination of a topical agent with a systemic agent is preferred, “as the differing modes of administration are expected to reduce the risk for drug interactions.”
To assess the safety and efficacy of calcipotriene 0.005%/betamethasone dipropionate 0.064% (Cal/BD) foam in combination with Otezla (apremilast, Amgen), Ozyurekoglu and Kircik enrolled 19 patients with psoriasis in an uncontrolled, open-label study.
At week 4, 95% of patients using the Cal/BD and apremilast combination achieved the primary endpoint of clear or almost clear on PGA. While the greatest reductions in PGA score were at week 4, the researchers observed significant reductions at each visit from baseline (P < .01).
At week 16, 74% of patients remained clear or almost clear. Also, 11% of patients rated as mild, 11% rated as moderate and one patient rated as severe.
Treatment was well-tolerated overall with no serious adverse events. Ozyurekoglu and Kircik noted 11 adverse events among five patients, including abdominal or stomach discomfort, diarrhea and hip pain.
“These findings highlight the importance of providing effective treatment for more than 7.5 million people with psoriasis in the United States,” Ozyurekoglu and Kircik wrote. “For a sizable proportion of patients with moderate or more than moderate psoriasis, combination regimens that pair systemic plus topical therapies continue to be employed.”