Investigators reported that that patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis receiving Remicade induction and maintenance therapy experienced significant improvements in productivity at week 10, which were sustained through week 50. Analysis showed that three-quarters of severe psoriasis patients given their anti-inflammation treatment Remicade showed a 75% improvement in 10 weeks.
Psoriasis is an inflammatory disorder characterized by raised, inflamed, red lesions, or plaques, which can cause physical pain and emotional distress.
“Such analyses offer further insight into the impact of this chronic inflammatory disease on patient productivity and the effect of intervening with an appropriate biologic treatment, like Remicade. We look forward to further studies to identify the economic implications of such productivity analyses in a real-world setting,” said Steven Feldman, professor of dermatology, pathology and public health sciences, Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University.
In September 2006, Remicade was approved in the US for the treatment of adult patients with chronic severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy and when other systemic therapies are medically less appropriate.