In the study, patients with moderate to severe disease who achieved 75% improvement in psoriasis signs and symptoms at 12 weeks stopped receiving investigational anti-IL-12/23 antibody ABT-874. At 24 weeks, more than two-thirds of these patients maintained at least 50% improvement.
“ABT-874 represents a novel approach to treating psoriasis, targeting a part of the inflammatory response that is not addressed by any therapy available today,” said Alan Menter, chair of psoriasis research at the Baylor Research Institute, Dallas.
ABT-874 is a fully human monoclonal antibody designed to target and neutralize interleukin-12 and interleukin-23, two proteins associated with inflammation in psoriasis and other autoimmune disorders. Abbott plans to begin Phase III psoriasis studies with ABT-874 later this year.