Cosentyx Effective in Psoriatic Arthritis

MedPage Today—September 30, 2015

MedPage Today reports on a study that suggest that interleukin (IL)-17A inhibitor secukinumab (Cosentyx) was significantly more effective than a placebo in regards to treatment of psoriatic arthritis. According to the article,during phase three of the study, 50.5 percent of patients receiving Cosentyx showed a 20 percent response to the medication, compared to the 17.3 percent randomized to the placebo. The article also notes that while many patients with psoriatic arthritis have benefited significantly from treatment with conventional disease-modifying drugs, some have had inadequate responses or have not tolerated these therapies.

"Many patients do not achieve adequate benefit or their disease breaks through after a period of successful control, so a drug with a different mechanism of action is clearly needed for psoriatic arthritis," said Susan M. Goodman, MD, of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, who was not involved in the study. Dr. Goodman also mentions that, "Cells that produce IL-17 are increased in the skin and joints of psoriatic arthritis patients, and IL-17 may be a critical mediator of damage in psoriatic arthritis,"

To read the full article, visit www.medpagetoday.com.