Brodalumab linked to rapid psoriatic arthritis improvement

A biological drug called brodalumab seems to quickly and significantly improve the signs and symptoms of psoriatic arthritis, says data in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.

The drug is already approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in many countries (including the UK) but is only approved for use in psoriatic arthritis in Japan.

Now new trials on 693 adults with active psoriatic arthritis who had inadequate response, or intolerance, to conventional treatment suggest brodalumab may be used more widely for people with psoriatic arthritis. There were side effects but these were similar between the sham drug and brodalumab.

“Brodalumab 140mg and 280mg once every two weeks were associated with significantly greater improvements in clinical response versus placebo at 12 weeks,” says Dr Philip Mease, who is involved in the work. “The safety profile of brodalumab in psoriatic arthritis was consistent with the safety profile established in the psoriasis clinical trial program, and clinical responses were sustained… up to week 52.”

Click here to read more about brodalumab.

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