Novartis says its psoriasis drug bests Janssen’s in comparison study
pharmafile | March 7, 2016 | News story | Research and Development, Sales and Marketing | Cosentyx, Novartis, Stelara
Novartis has announced new data from a study comparing its drug Cosentyx to Janssen’s Stelara, which it says demonstrates Cosentyx’s superiority in achieving sustained skin clearance in psoriasis patients at 52 weeks.
The response was measured by the PASI scale, which is used to evaluate the severity of the condition, and also demonstrated a faster onset for Cosentyx (secukinumab) with a similar safety profile consistent with the drug’s performance in Phase III studies. Novartis says half of Cosentyx patients achieved PASI 75 (a 75% reduction in psoriasis symptoms) as early as week four, compared to 20.6% for Stelara (ustekinumab).
Cosentyx was recently approved by EU and US regulators for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis.
“Cosentyx continues to demonstrate superior and sustainable efficacy against currently available biologics and is a proven first-line treatment option for adult patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis,” says Vasant Narasimhan, global head, Drug Development and chief medical officer, Novartis. “Cosentyx has the potential to give more people with psoriasis than ever before the benefit of long-lasting skin clearance.”
Compared with Stelara, in the CLEAR study, Cosentyx achieved and sustained a PASI 90 response in 76.2% of patients, versus 60.6%, and was also more effective at helping patients achieve a PASI 100, or complete, response, indicating clear skin. 45.9% of Cosentyx patients achieved this figure, compared to 35.8% on Stelara.
Affecting around 125 million people globally, psoriasis is a chronic skin condition that causes itching, scaling and pain, and can have a significant impact on physical and psychological wellbeing. Despite this, up to half of patients receive no treatment, and of those who do, many (52%) remain dissatisfied with their disease management.
Joel Levy
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