Cosentyx is a fully human interleukin-17A (IL-17A) inhibitor, which showed speedy and sustained long term efficacy in treating patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and ankylosing spondilytis (AS)
Cosentyx will specifically suppress IL-17A, a cytokine involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis and inflammation of the entheses in PsA and AS.
Scalp study is a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial designed to assess the efficacy and safety of Cosentyx in 102 patients with moderate-to-severe scalp psoriasis.
The company equally randomized eligible patients to either subcutaneous Cosentyx 300mg or placebo at weeks zero, one two, three and four, then every four weeks for 12 weeks.
The trials primary endpoint was the proportion of patients who achieved PSSI 90 response rate at week 12.
According to the company, the PSSI 90 response rates were achieved by a significantly higher proportion of patients receiving Cosentyx in the Scalp study against placebo at week 12, with further improvements in those taking Cosentyx up to week 24.
Cosentyx was studied in various trials to test the efficacy in treating different types of plaque psoriasis, including palmoplantar psoriasis, scalp psoriasis and nail psoriasis.
Cosentyx has a large clinical trials program in psoriasis, PsA and AS with over 60 studies and 10,000 patients.
Novartis immunology and dermatology global development unit head Eric Hughes said: "As a science driven company, we are committed to investigating the full potential of Cosentyx.
"Cosentyx is backed by a large study program including more than 10,000 patients in over 60 studies since our first Cosentyx study initiation 10 years ago.
“We believe that study data on specific manifestations such as scalp help doctors reach the right decisions with their patients."