Novartis’ Cosentyx shown to offer continued efficacy after treatment pause

Novartis has announced clinical trial data showing how its drug Cosentyx can be of benefit to psoriasis patients who have experienced a relapse during a treatment pause.

The new analysis indicated that moderate to severe psoriasis patients treated with Cosentyx rapidly regain clear or almost clear skin following relapse during a treatment pause, while no anti-secukinumab antibodies were observed.

Generally, continuous treatment is seen to be preferable to intermittent therapy, but sometimes treatment pauses are unavoidable. This new analysis shows that if psoriasis patients relapse as a consequence, the majority can achieve their previous high levels of efficacy after only 16 weeks of retreatment with Cosentyx, with little risk of immunogenicity.

Vas Narasimhan, global head of drug development and chief medical officer at Novartis, said: "If for some reason treatment has been interrupted, this analysis gives patients and clinicians the peace of mind that Cosentyx is likely to help people quickly achieve clear skin once again."

A fully human, targeted treatment that works by inhibiting the IL-17A cytokine, Cosentyx has been shown in previous studies to deliver high and long-lasting rates of clear or almost clear skin in up to 80 percent of patients.

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