Clinical Review

Novel Psoriasis Therapies and Patient Outcomes, Part 2: Biologic Treatments

Cutis. 2015 May;95(5):282-290

Meghan A. Feely, MD; Barry L. Smith, MD; Jeffrey M. Weinberg, MD

From the Department of Dermatology, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s-Roosevelt and Beth Israel Medical Centers of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.

Drs. Feely and Smith report no conflict of interest. Dr. Weinberg is an investigator and speaker for AbbVie, Inc; Amgen Inc; and Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation.

This article is the second of a 3-part series. The third part will appear in July 2015.

Correspondence: Meghan A. Feely, MD, Department of Dermatology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s-Roosevelt, 1090 Amsterdam Ave, Ste 11B, New York, NY 10025 (mfeely@chpnet.org).

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References

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Inhibition of Toll-like Receptors 7, 8, and 9

IMO-8400

IMO-8400 (Idera Pharmaceuticals) is unique in that it treats psoriasis by targeting toll-like receptors (TLRs) 7, 8, and 9.³⁷ In phase 1 studies, IMO-8400 was well tolerated when administered to a maximum of 0.6 mg/kg.³⁸ An 18-week, phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study evaluating the safety and tolerability of different dose levels—0.075 mg/kg, 0.15 mg/kg, and 0.3 mg/kg—of IMO-8400 versus placebo in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis was completed, but the results were not available at the time of publication (NCT01899729).

Inhibition of Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor

Namilumab (MT203)

Namilumab (formerly known as MT203)(Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited) is a granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor inhibitor. At the time of publication, participants were actively being recruited for a phase 2, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-finding and proof-of-concept study to assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of namilumab at 4 different SC doses—300 mg, 160 mg, 100 mg, and 40 mg at baseline with half the dose on days 15, 43, and 71 for each of the 4 treatment arms—versus placebo in patients with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis (NCT02129777).

Conclusion

Novel biologic treatments promise exciting new therapeutic avenues for psoriasis and PsA. Although biologics currently are in use for treatment of psoriasis and PsA in the form of TNF-α inhibitors, other drugs currently in phase 2 through phase 4 clinical trials aim to target other pathways underlying the pathogenesis of psoriasis and PsA, including inhibition of the IL-12/IL-23 pathway; inhibition of the IL-17 pathway; inhibition of T-cell activation in antigen-presenting cells; activation of regulatory T cells; inhibition of TLR-7, TLR-8, and TLR-9; and inhibition of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. These novel therapies offer hope for more targeted treatment strategies for patients with psoriasis and/or PsA.