Findings from a placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study of Remicade 3mg/kg and 5mg/kg, showed that every eight-week maintenance therapy resulted in greater long-term skin clearance compared with ‘as-needed’ therapy regimens within each dose.
At week 10, after infusions at weeks zero, two and six, 70% of patients treated with Remicade 3mg/kg and 75% of patients receiving 5mg/kg achieved at least 75% improvement in psoriasis as measured by psoriasis area severity index (PASI 75), compared with 2% of patients receiving placebo.
At week 50, patients receiving Remicade 5mg/kg every eight-week maintenance therapy achieved the highest level of sustained PASI improvement with the majority of the patients achieving PASI 75 versus the Remicade 3mg/kg eight-week maintenance therapy and the Remicade 3 mg/kg and 5 mg/kg ‘as-needed’ therapy regimens.
“These data show great potential for Remicade in the treatment of a disease that often carries great physical and emotional challenges,” said Dr Robert Matheson, of the Oregon Medical Research Center, and study investigator. “The potential of achieving nearly complete skin clearance is exciting and holds great promise for patients with this difficult-to-treat disease.”