Health Boards
Following on from this post in November 2011 https://psoriasisclub.org/showthread.php?tid=307 Merck have presented findings at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD)
Source: NO LINKS ALLOWED
Quote:
Patients with chronic plaque psoriasis showed significant improvement after 16 weeks of treatment with the humanized monoclonal antibody MK-3222, based on early data from an ongoing randomized, controlled, dose-ranging study of 355 adults. The findings were presented in a late-breaker session at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.
The patients were randomized to receive MK-3222 doses of 5 mg, 25 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg, or a placebo, injected subcutaneously at weeks 0 and 4, then every 12 weeks thereafter until week 52. The mean baseline Psoriasis Area and Severity (PASI) index score of the patients was 12, and all patients had greater than 10% body surface area involvement and at least a moderate Physician Global Assessment (PGA) scale score.
Responses at 16 weeks were dose-dependent; PASI 75 responses occurred in 33%, 64%, 66%, 74%, and 4.4% in the 5-mg, 25-mg, 100-mg, 200-mg and placebo groups respectively, said Dr. Kim Papp of Probity Medical Research, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. PGA responses were 33%, 58%, 62%, 74%, and 2%, respectively. The differences were statistically significant for each dose compared with placebo for both PASI 75 responses and PGA responses.
MK-3222 is a high-affinity humanized anti-IL-23p19 monoclonal antibody that doesn't bind human IL-12 (subunit p40), Dr. Papp said. "We know from results of previous studies that blockade of IL-23 is, in fact, an effective route to treating psoriasis," he said.
Dr. Papp noted that safety signals have been linked with IL-12 blockade, but not with IL-23 blockade, which provides support for further research of this agent.
In this study, MK-3222 was generally safe and well-tolerated, with a low drop-out rate. Adverse events were similar across all treatment groups. Four serious adverse events were reported within the first 16 weeks of treatment, including one case of bacterial arthritis possibly related to treatment, and one death that was unrelated to treatment.
"Those of us who see these patients know that there is an exquisite need for additional therapies," Dr. Papp said. The findings are encouraging, and MK-3222, which is currently in phase III development, "certainly deserves further exploration as a therapy for psoriasis," he said.
Source: NO LINKS ALLOWED