First Biologic Treatment for Psoriasis

A new medicine to treat psoriasis that is the first in its class is designed to target the underlying cause, which is an immune dysfunction that drives skin cells to multiply uncontrollably. The new drug has been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

In patients with psoriasis, skin cells grow ten times faster than the normal rate. The excess cells pile up on the skin's surface, forming red, raised, scaly plaques that can be painful and disfiguring. The new drug is injected once a week for 12 weeks. Since the drug induces dose-dependent reductions in CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocyte counts, patients should have their CD4+ T-lymphocyte counts monitored weekly during the dosing period. The drug is an immunosuppressive agent and therefore has the potential to increase the risk of infection and malignancies. Existing drugs for psoriasis have side effects that can result in liver or kidney disease.

Called alefacept (Amevive), the drug was developed by Biogen (Cambridge, MA, USA). Treatment will not be inexpensive. The cost to patients or insurers for a 12-week course is expected to be around US$8,400 to $11,900.

"Amevive is from a new class of drugs and probably represents one of the biggest advances for psoriasis in 20 years,” noted Gail M.Zimmerman, president of the US National Psoriasis Foundation. "This is exciting news for people with psoriasis.”




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