UCB announces positive results for new psoriasis therapy

UCB, the Belgian pharmaceutical company, has revealed new clinical trial results for Cimzia (certolizumab pegol), a drug the company describes as a “new type of anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) therapy”.

In a phase II trial of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis, Cimzia was found to have achieved a “high degree” of statistical significance in meeting the study’s endpoints, which included the proportion of patients achieving a 75 per cent decrease in the severity index for psoriasis area.

Additionally, the drug was well-tolerated, with side-effects not dissimilar to other widely-used anti-TNF drugs. A 24-week follow-up study is underway in patients from the psoriasis study group.

Olav Hellebo, president of inflammation operations at UCB, stated: “The data from this first trial in psoriasis are highly encouraging, revealing the tremendous potential for Cimzia in the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis, building on the robust efficacy demonstrated in the clinical trials in Crohn’s disease, and further reinforcing our commitment to the phase III programme in psoriasis.”

Professor Jean-Paul Ortonne, of the Hopital L’Archet, Nice, France, added: “These initial results in psoriasis suggest that certolizumab pegol has the potential to become a highly effective and well-tolerated addition to the biologic treatment options currently available for this difficult-to-treat disease.”

Cimzia was submitted for regulatory approval in the EU in April 2006 for the treatment of Crohn’s disease. Further trials have been ongoing to investigate whether the drug is effective in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

The drug works by isolating TNF-alpha, which has been identified as a major cause of pathological inflammation.

Psoriasis afflicts approximately two per cent of the European population, according to UCB. There is currently no cure for the condition.

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