A year ago, Novartis let people know that its drug, secukinumab, had shown positive results in a Phase III study for the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis. Now, the same drug could be an option for people living with psoriatic arthritis. Secukinumab is currently marketed as Cosentyx for the treatment of plaque psoriasis.
While 40% of ankylosing spondylitis patients have shown an inadequate or no response to anti-TNF treatments, 74% of those in the study showed clinically significant improvement in symptoms after one year of treatment. For 61% of participants, improvement in symptoms was reported after the first 16 weeks.
Secukinumab is a biologic interleukin-17A inhibitor. It’s different from anti-TNFs and displayed positive results for ankylosing spondylitis patients who had previously shown an inadequate response or intolerance to anti-TNFs, as well as for those who had been previously untreated with anti-TNFs.
Secukinumab as Ankylosing Spondylitis Treatment:
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- Improvement in symptoms was detected as early as 16 weeks after starting treatment
- Almost 74% of participants had clinically significant improvement in symptoms after one year
For Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment:
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- Approximately half of the patients on Cosentyx in a phase III study demonstrated a 20% reduction by the conclusion of week 24, according to the American College of Rheumatology response criteria
- Compared to placebo, Cosentyx demonstrated quick and substantial clinical improvements
