Study: Arthritis Drug Effective Against Psoriasis

The arthritis drug Enbrel (etanercept) has proven effective against psoriasis in advanced clinical studies, according to its manufacturer Amgen.

Psoriasis is characterized by chronic inflammation of the skin that involves the painful and disfiguring formation of skin plaques.

A phase 3 clinical study found that nearly half of the participants "quickly and significantly" responded to Enbrel with at least a 75 percent improvement in their psoriasis, said Dr. Beth Seidenberg, Amgen's senior vice president of development.

After 24 weeks of treatment with Enbrel, Seidenberg said the number of participants that showed improvement reached nearly 60 percent. She added that the drug was generally well tolerated in the study, noting that any adverse events after 12 weeks of treatment were similar to those occurring in patients receiving a placebo.

Researcher Dr. Alice Gottlieb, professor of medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, said the results advance the understanding of Enbrel as a potential future therapy for patients with this life-threatening disease. She said complete results of the study would be presented in the spring.

Enbrel is the only biologic therapy approved to treat newly diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis patients.

Source: Amgen