FDA Approves Siliq As Effective Drug For Mild To Severe Psoriasis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Siliq (brodalumab) as treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adults. This is an injectable drug, which is intended for patients who totally stopped responding to systemic therapy or phytotherapy.

Moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis resulted in serious discomfort and skin irritation, FDA reported. The approval of Siliq is another alternative to manage that, Dr. Julie Beitz, director of the FDA's Office of Drug Evaluation III at the agency's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research said.

"Patients and their health care providers should discuss the benefits and risks of Siliq before considering treatment," she added. The injectable drug contains side effects.

The most common type of psoriasis is plaque psoriasis, which possesses flaky, silver-white scales on the thick and red skin. The job of Siliq is to attack a cytokine called interleukin-17, a major inducer of that skin ailment.

Psoriasis as an autoimmune skin disorder most prevalently affects patients aged 15 to 35. As per the American Academy of Dermatology, almost 7.5 million people in the United States have psoriasis. Approximately 80 percent of cases were determined as mild to moderate. Whereas the remaining 20 percent were diagnosed with moderate-to-severe psoriasis, which is considered when it affects over 5 percent surface area of the body.

Three randomized clinical trials with a placebo control were performed to verify whether Siliq is safe and effective to utilize. These experiments involved 4,373 adult participants with moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

After the testing, scientists have found that majority of the patients who were injected withSiliq displayed a clear or almost clear skin. Those who were given with placebo didn't display a similar outcome.

The results were analyzed utilizing a scoring system that considered the severity, nature, and degree of psoriatic skin modifications. Siliq is effective but still, produces unfavorable responses in some patients.

These include joint pain, fatigue, headache, diarrhea, nausea, throat pain and muscle pain.There are also decrease in white blood cell count, induce fungal infections and influenza with a long term use of Siliq. This injectable medication may also increase suicidal conduct and ideation of the patient.