New Psoriatic Arthritis Drug Shows Sustained Efficacy

Patients who received secukinumab sustained improvements over one year of treatment.

Novartis recently published its FUTURE 2 study results in The Lancet, showing the sustained efficacy of secukinumab (Cosentyx) in psoriatic arthritis patients.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) symptoms include inflammation of the skin, making it thick, painful, and itchy. Secukinumab is the first interleukin-17A (IL-17A) inhibitor to produce conclusive beneficial results in a phase 3 study.

The study included 397 adult participants with PsA who received 3 doses of subcutaneous secukinumab - 300 mg, 150 mg, and 75 mg. Secukinumab 300 mg and 150 mg met the goal endpoint of the study after Week 24, showing improvements as early as Week 3. Improvements sustained over one year of the treatment, at 64% for both doses.

Improvements in Secukinumab 300 mg and 150 mg were at 54% and 51%, respectively, on the American College of Rheumatology response criteria (ACR 20). This is significantly higher than the placebo group, at 15%.

Secukinumab 300 mg and 150 mg also had an improvement score of 90% on the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index Score (PASI 90), giving patients clear, or near clear, skin by the end of the trial.

While improvements were higher in patients with no prior treatment for PsA, benefits were seen in a majority of patients, even those with prior anti-TNF treatment, and those who were anti-TNF resistant. Many PsA patients are anti-TNF resistant, and 40% are not satisfied with its results, making these clinical trials even more significant, according to the study.

Cosentyx is the only IL-17A inhibitor to be approved in Europe and the United States to treat plaque psoriasis. Secukinumab has been submitted for global regulatory submission review. The most common side effects were respiratory tract infections and the common cold.