Janssen launches Stelara in UK for treatment of adolescents with psoriasis

Janssen has announced that its drug Stelara (ustekinumab) is now available for the treatment of  moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adolescent patients.

The drug has been approved in Europe for use in the treatment of patients from the age of 12 and older who are inadequately controlled by, or are intolerant to, other systemic therapies or phototherapies.

This latest approval was based on results from the Cadmus phase III clinical trial, which showed the drug was able to deliver improvements in psoriasis symptoms and health-related quality of life compared with placebo over a 12-week period.

Dr Rozlyn Bekker, medical director at Janssen UK, said: "The Cadmus study has shown that ustekinumab is an efficacious treatment option that can significantly improve psoriasis symptoms and lessen its impact on quality of life in young people aged 12 and over."

The prevalence of psoriasis in those aged between ten and 19 years is around 1.4 percent, which suggests that around 40,000 children and adolescents in this age group are affected by psoriasis in the UK.

Stelara is also approved alone or in combination with methotrexate for the treatment of active psoriatic arthritis in adult patients.