Novartis reports positive psoriatic arthritis data for Cosentyx

Novartis has announced new data showing the effectiveness of its drug Cosentyx in the treatment of psoriatic arthritis.

New results from the phase III trial FUTURE 1 have demonstrated that patients treated with Cosentyx showing no further progression in joint damage in 84 percent of cases.

In addition, the drug maintained a treatment response in joint and skin disease, physical function and quality of life in patients over two years of treatment.

That makes this the first of a new class of medicines called interleukin-17A inhibitors to demonstrate efficacy in phase III studies in psoriatic arthritis, indicating that it can prevent the progression of this debilitating disease.

Vasant Narasimhan, global head of development at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, said: "These results show the potential for Cosentyx to create an important new option for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis."

The company also reported two-year data showing the effectiveness of Cosentyx in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis this week.