A monoclonal antibody targeting an interleukin-23 subunit has shown a significant reduction in psoriasis area and disease severity in 77 psoriasis patients, according to data from a randomized, placebo-controlled phase I trial.
Three doses of intravenous tildrakizumab (0.05–10 mg/kg1) – given 1-2 months apart – were associated with 50%-80% reductions in mean placebo-corrected psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) scores at 112 days after commencing treatment, and was well tolerated with minor adverse events.
Researchers observed 50% reductions in PASI score 308 days after the last administered dose, and all subjects given 3 or 10 mg/kg achieved a 75% reduction in PASI score by day 196, according to a paper published online March 9 in Nature (doi: 10.1038/nature14175).
“Further development of tildrakizumab is warranted based on these results to determine whether selective targeting of IL-23 can provide similar or better efficacy while reducing safety concerns that are associated with other biologic agents currently approved for the treatment of psoriasis,” wrote Dr. Tamara Kopp, from the Juvenis Medical Center, Vienna, and coauthors.
The study was funded by tildrakizumab-developer Merck & Co. Inc, and several authors were employees of Merck & Co. Inc.