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Biologics define new standard of
therapy in psoriasis
Anti-TNF agents set the
new gold standard of
psoriasis treatment which
could be outperformed by smarter next generation biologics and small molecules
in safety and convenience
BARCELONA, Spain | Sep 07, 2006 | The Business Intelligence
firm La Merie S.L. reported today that the advent of anti-TNF biologicals has
set a new standard of treatment in moderate to severe plaque-type psoriasis.
Systemic anti-TNF biologics etanercept followed by infliximab, adalimumab and
certolizumab pegol have raised the level of efficacy in an unprecedented manner,
but which next generation biologics such as Centocor’s CNTO 1275 directed
against interleukin-12/-23 also achieved in phase II. The more than 13 biologics
and 31 small molecule projects in the full clinical stage pipeline will have to
be smarter than anti-TNF and achieve at least the same efficacy but offer an
advantage in avoiding the serious side effects of anti-TNF biologics. These
results and more were found in a competitor analysis conducted by La Merie
Business Intelligence. The findings of the search can be acquired at
www.pipelinereview.com,
La Merie’s News Center and Online Store.
The four anti-TNF biologics already approved or in late stage clinical
development achieved a 75 % reduction of the psoriasis area and severity index (PASI)
in about 70 % of patients. An almost complete clearance of psoriasis (PASI 90)
was achieved in about half of the patients. Despite annual treatment costs of
about US$ 10,000 to 20,000, the British NICE issued guidance for the use of
targeted biological therapies to treat adult patients with severe plaque
psoriasis. However, the high efficacy is at the cost of severe anti-TNF typical
side effects such as cardiac failure, infections (tuberculosis), lymphoma risk
and neurological events. More targeted therapies or topical administration of
anti-TNF agents may overcome this downside of anti-TNF therapy. Several small
molecule and small biological anti-TNF projects are exploring the topical use in
psoriasis.
The most validated and promising new target in psoriasis is under development by
Centocor with competitors from other companies. The fully human antibody
targeting the common p40 subunit of interleukin-12 (IL-12) and IL-23 is in phase
III studies and achieved phase II efficacy results comparable to those of
anti-TNF agents without uncommon side effects. Other categories of biologics
include, apart from the predominant antibodies, vaccine, DNA, RNA, protein and
peptide projects.
Nearly half of the small molecule based projects in clinical development are
improved molecules against validated targets. The most recent introduction of
the combination product of calcipotriene and beclomethasone as a once-daily gel
or ointment from LEO Pharma and Warner Chilcott has the potential to challenge
the biologicals as it also achieves a high level efficacy at a cost of only
about EURO 100 per year. New data also indicate that the steroid containing gel
may be safely administered over one year.
About
PipelineReview.com
PipelineReview.com is the News Center and Online Store of La Merie
Business Intelligence focused on R&D in the Biopharmaceutical Industry. Visitors
of PipelineReview.com will find R&D relevant press releases and can receive
selected R&D news from one or more of the site’s News Channels. For more
information visit
www.pipelinereview.com,.
About La Merie
La Merie S.L. is a Business Intelligence enterprise fully dedicated to
provide high quality R&D information to the biopharmaceutical industry. La Merie
offers individual consultancy services and publishes reports and periodicals.
For more information visit
www.lamerie.com.
SOURCE: La Merie Business
Intelligence
About R&D Pipeline News
R&D Pipeline News is a premier information source about research and
development projects in the pipeline of the biopharmaceutical industry. The
periodical is directed to all stakeholders in R&D. The weekly publication comes
in a rapid- and easy-to-screen tabular format and provides access to the
original information source via hyperlinks. R&D Pipeline News covers all
relevant treatment modalities and is directly delivered to the desktop via
e-mail. More information about the journal, a free trial and subscriptions are
available via La Merie’s Business Intelligence Center
www.pipelinereview.com .
About La Merie
La Merie S.L. is a Business Intelligence enterprise fully dedicated to provide
high quality R&D information to the biopharmaceutical industry. La Merie offers
individual consultancy services and publishes reports and periodicals.
They publish two weekly
newsletters - apply for a FREE three week trial:
R&D Pipeline News is a premier
information source about research and development projects in the pipeline of
the biopharmaceutical industry and is directed to all stakeholders in R&D. The
weekly publication comes in a rapid- and easy-to-screen tabular format and
provides access to the original information source via hyperlinks. R&D Pipeline
News covers all relevant treatment modalities and is directly delivered to the
desktop via e-mail.
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