FDA: Etanercept first biologic approved for pediatric psoriasis

Etanercept has been received Food and Drug Administration approval for treating chronic moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in children and adolescents, aged 4-17 years, making this the first biologic and first systemic treatment approved in the United States for pediatric psoriasis.

Etanercept, a tumor necrosis factor blocker marketed as Enbrel, was approved in 1998 for treating moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis and has been approved for several other indications since then, including psoriatic arthritis and moderate to severe psoriasis in adults, and polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis in patients aged 2 years and older.

^{James Heilman, MD/Wikimedia Commons}