Novartis will present new data on Cosentyx

[Fred]

Novartis have announced they will be presenting data on Cosentyx at at the 73rd Annual Meeting of American Academy of Dermatology that shows superiority over Stelara for psoriasis.

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Novartis announced today that new results for Cosentyx (secukinumab) in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, including detailed findings from the head-to-head CLEAR study and long-term data from the Phase III program, will be presented as late breaking research at the 73rd Annual Meeting of American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), from 20 - 24 March in San Francisco, California, USA. In total, 25 posters from the Novartis Dermatology portfolio will be highlighted at this leading congress.

New data from the CLEAR study will include results that demonstrate Cosentyx is superior to Stelara (ustekinumab) in clearing skin (PASI 90 and PASI 100) at Week 16. CLEAR is the first Phase III psoriasis study designed with a PASI 90 objective, which is considered an important measure of treatment success by the European Medicines Agency and an optimal treatment goal for patients.

In addition, new long-term results for Cosentyx up to two years from the Phase III program will be highlighted for the first time at the congress. The data comes from an extension of the pivotal FIXTURE and ERASURE studies. In the FIXTURE study, Cosentyx cleared the skin of 72% psoriasis patients compared to 31% for Enbrel (etanercept) at Week 16.

"We are excited to present new late-breaking research at AAD, following the back-to-back regulatory approvals received earlier this year," said Vasant Narasimhan, Global Head of Development, Novartis Pharmaceuticals. "Our commitment is to keep demonstrating more evidence on the ability of Cosentyx to clear psoriasis skin, to inform physicians and give hope to people living with this life-long disease who need treatments that provide long-term relief."

In January 2015, Cosentyx (at a dose of 300 mg) became the first and only interleukin-17A (IL-17A) inhibitor approved in Europe as a first-line systemic treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adult patients, and in the US as a treatment for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adult psoriasis patients who are candidates for systemic therapy (a drug that is absorbed into the bloodstream and distributed to all parts of the body) or phototherapy (light therapy). In addition to the EU and the US, Cosentyx has been approved in Switzerland, Chile, Australia and Canada for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and in Japan for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Source: novartis.com