Psoriasis community comes together and calls for collective action to help improve the lives of people with psoriasis
pharmafile | December 19, 2022 | News story | Business Services |
Slough, UK, 15 December 2022 – UCB, a global biopharmaceutical company, has announced results from the Epicensus programme, published in Dermatology and Therapy. The paper highlights the key unmet needs that remain in psoriasis care and lays foundations for actionable improvements to be made by individuals, institutions and governments across Europe in order to improve the care gap. This Epicensus programme was initiated and funded by UCB.
The project was launched in December 2020 to generate insights around elevating the standard of care and improving patient-related outcomes in psoriasis. 18 European experts from three key stakeholder groups (clinicians, patients and payors) shared their perspectives, which led to the identification of the eight action areas outlined in the Dermatology and Therapy publication1:
1. Improve healthcare systems to better support multidisciplinary teams and digital services
2. Drive real-world data generation and optimal use
3. Improve patient access
4. Make quality-of-life measures the most important outcome
5. Involve patients in patient-centred and personalised approaches to care
6. Improve the relevance and reach of guidelines
7. Improve multi-stakeholder education
8. Improve patient engagement
“Psoriasis can place a significant physical and psychological burden on those living with the condition, resulting in people avoiding certain situations and activities,” said Helen McAteer, Chief Executive of The Psoriasis Association. “Despite considerable improvements in the way we treat the condition, significant disparities exist in the quality of care and treatment patients receive in the UK. I am delighted to see these issues being investigated by the Epicensus initiative.”
UCB has established a steering committee to instigate change in the UK, based on the Epicensus recommendations. The group, chaired by Professor Richard Warren, is composed of patient and Media release for use in UK medical and trade media Job code: GB-N-DA-PSO-2200092 Date of preparation: December 2022 professional organisations and will focus on implementing a standard of care for people living with psoriasis in the UK.
“Despite psoriasis affecting one in fifty adults in the UK, skin conditions continue to rank low on the government’s agenda. This means that many suffer in silence, and struggle to access a consistent quality of care.” said Claire Brading, Managing Director, UCB UK & Ireland. “At UCB, we believe that every person has the right to clear skin but understand that psoriasis is more than skin deep. Psoriasis can affect all aspects of a person’s life, including their ability to work or enjoy social activities with friends and family. We hope that by working closely with people with psoriasis, and other key stakeholders as part of the Epicensus initiative, we can create tailored solutions that support patients, irrespective of where they are in their treatment journey, or where they are in the country.”
Epicensus serves as a timely wake-up call, as it has identified areas for intervention – some of which have remained unaddressed for over a decade. Simply recognising an area of unmet need is not sufficient to effect change. The call now goes out to individuals and organisations across Europe to take practical steps towards implementing the changes laid out in the paper. Only then can improvements in the management of psoriasis and its outcomes be realised.
