AbbVie’s Humira shows benefits in fingernail psoriasis trial

AbbVie has announced new clinical trial data demonstrating the safety and efficacy of its drug Humira in the treatment of fingernail psoriasis.

The phase III trial results showed that nearly half of adult patients with moderate to severe psoriasis treated with Humira achieved at least a 75 percent improvement in their condition compared to those receiving placebo.

Fingernail psoriasis occurs in up to 55 percent of people living with psoriasis and up to 70 percent of those with psoriatic arthritis. It is associated with pitting, deformation, thickening, discolouration and separation of the nail from the nail bed.

Findings from this study were presented at the recent annual congress of the Psoriasis International Network in Paris.

Dr John Medich, vice-president for immunology clinical development at AbbVie, said: "Our data at Psoriasis 2016 demonstrates AbbVie's continued commitment to Humira and expands on the extensive research conducted over more than 18 years to support patients with serious immune-mediated diseases."

Humira was first approved 13 years ago and is currently being used to treat more than 989,000 patients worldwide across 14 globally approved indications.