Psoriatic Arthritis Cure Update: Cosentyx Psoriasis Drug an Effective Treatment, According to Study

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Psoriatic arthritis is considered as a chronic disease that is characterized by skin and joints inflammation and is usually seen to develop in 10 percent to 15 percent of people with psoriasis, according to Medicine Net.

If left untreated, complications like dysfunctional joints, heart-valve complications and eye, bowel or lung irritations may occur, triggering a serious condition. Fortunately, Swiss pharmaceutical company Norvatis has developed a drug that may become a highly effective treatment for the said disease.

According to Reuters, not only has Cosentyx been recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in January for treating plaque psoriasis, but also the results of their trial testing have given the company high hopes for its possiblte treatment to other related conditions. 

The medical journal The Lancet has published how quickly Cosentyx has treated psoriatic arthritis in a year, after being given to patients only once a month, thus defeating older biotech drugs in the market.

Vas Narasimhan, global head development of the company, believes that following Cosentyx's one-year effect on ankylosing spondylitis and two-year benefits in psoriasis, it is also possible to generate the drug as a first-line treatment with an annual sale of $4 billion to $5 billion.

Drug Development Technology states that the mechanism of the drug works by inhibiting the action of a protein called IL-17A, which is highly concentrated in the skin of patients with psoriasis.

Compared to other drugs like Fixture and Eraser, Cosentyx has shown a higher consistency in skin clearance during the first 16 weeks of usage. Once treatment time has been increased to 52 weeks, the same results are seen, reaching PASI 90, an almost clear skin indicator.

PASI measurement is the basis for the severity of the plaques in psoriasis, which includes the redness, scaling and thickness. A treatment is said to be efficient based on the reduction of scores - PASI 75 means 75 percent reduction and the highest, PASI 90, means 90 percent reduction. In terms of adverse reactions such as diarrhea and upper respiratory infection, Cosentyx has been reported to have a much favorable safety profile as compared to other drugs.

Currently, other companies are continuing to develop similar medications but the competition is slowly receding. Amgen has not pushed through with its collaboration with AstraZeneca after the company has seen suicidal attempts on patients who are taking the medications. This leaves Eli Lilly as Novartis' biggest competitor, though the latter is yet to have its drug Ixekizumab approved.