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news.Genentech has presented final results from a long-term study that showed sustained improvement in psoriasis symptoms, throughout three years of continuous treatment with Raptiva (efalizumab).
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This three-year study is the longest study of psoriasis patients receiving continuous treatment with a biologic agent.
The trial, a 36-month, phase IIIb open-label study, evaluated the long-term safety and efficacy of continuous treatment with Raptiva in adults with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis.
Results showed that, at 33 months, of the patients who remained in the study and continued to receive weekly Raptiva therapy, 75% showed a 75% or greater improvement on the psoriasis area severity index (PASI 75) and 41% showed a 90% or greater improvement (PASI 90).
At the end of the final three-month transitional period of the three-year study (at 36 months), 73% of patients showed a 75% or greater PASI improvement and 40% showed a 90% or greater PASI improvement.
“Given that psoriasis is a chronic disease, as dermatologists we must weigh the efficacy and safety of different treatment options over the long term. It is encouraging to see a consistent safety profile for Raptiva in this three-year open-label study,” said Dr Craig Leonardi, associate clinical professor of dermatology at St Louis University Medical School, Missouri, and a study investigator.
Serono SA, Genentech’s partner outside the US and Japan, recently announced that it has received approval for Raptiva in a total of 33 countries, including those of the European Union, Switzerland, Australia, Argentina, Mexico and Brazil. In addition, Serono is currently awaiting the outcomes of marketing applications in a number of other countries in the territories for which it is responsible.