Wyeth’s Enbrel gets NICE approval for psoriasis

Wyeth has welcomed NICE’s decision to approve Enbrel for the treatment of patients with severe plaque psoriasis after first-line treatments have failed.

Both Enbrel and Raptiva were approved for use in this new indication, which Wyeth describes as important because NICE’s decisions influence other regulatory bodies in the EU.

Additionally, Enbrel can also be used for the treatment of severe psoriatic arthritis as well as severe psoriasis, which has recently been found to have a detrimental effect on patients’ quality of life.

Professor Robert Moots, professor of rheumatology at the University of Liverpool said that NHS trusts now had to take notice of the guidance and make sure they allow enough funding for patients to access the “much-needed” therapy.

Stevo Knezvic, chief medical officer of Wyeth Europa, added: “This endorsement of biological therapies is excellent news for psoriatic patients across Europe and the healthcare professionals who care for them.”

“It is now vital that healthcare providers take note of the positive NICE decision, the opinion of dermatologists and the needs of psoriatic patients, and make funding for these therapies available as quickly as possible,” he concluded.

Enbrel has been used by 400,000 patients across the world for a variety of different diseases. It is used for severe, progressive rheumatoid arthritis, severe ankylosing spondylitis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

The drug is an anti-tumour necrosis factor drug, which inhibits an enzyme that moderates inflammation in cells for diseases like psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis.

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