Novartis announced new results for Cosentyx®
(secukinumab) showing no further progression in joint damage in 84% of
patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). In addition, Cosentyx
maintained a treatment response in joint and skin disease, physical
function and quality of life in patients over two years of treatment.
These results from the extension phase of the FUTURE 1 study were
presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the American College of
Rheumatology (ACR) in San Francisco, United States.
Cosentyx is the first of a new class of medicines called
interleukin-17A (IL-17A) inhibitors to demonstrate efficacy in Phase III
studies in PsA - a life-long inflammatory disease that affects the skin
and joints. If not treated effectively, it can lead to irreversible
joint damage and disability caused by years of inflammation.
New medicines with an alternative way of working are needed as many
patients do not achieve an adequate response from current treatments,
such as disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, non-steroidal
anti-inflammatories or anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapies.
Many patients do not respond to or tolerate these therapies, with
approximately 45% of PsA patients dissatisfied with their treatments.
