Novartis announced that a new Phase 3b head-to-head study of IL-17A inhibitor secukinumab (AIN457) versus Stelara (ustekinumab) in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis has started patient enrollment. A total of twenty-five secukinumab abstracts, including two pivotal Phase 3 convenience studies to be presented for the first time, will be unveiled at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), taking place in Denver, Colo.“We are pleased to announce the start of CLEAR, our global Phase 3b head-to-head psoriasis study of secukinumab versus Stelara at the 2014 AAD annual meeting, which will provide further evidence regarding the benefit IL-17A inhibitor secukinumab brings to patients,” said Tim Wright, global head of development, Novartis Pharmaceuticals. “We initiated this study following the positive results from the phase III FIXTURE study, which showed secukinumab was significantly superior to Enbrel in clearing skin, and we look forward to presenting additional new Phase 3 data from our specialty dermatology portfolio at AAD.”
Nearly 3% of the world’s population, or more than 125 million people, are affected by plaque psoriasis, with more than one third of these suffering from its moderate-to-severe form. Between 40 and 50% of patients are dissatisfied with their current psoriasis therapies, indicating an unmet need for convenient therapies that act faster and longer to relieve the debilitating symptoms.
Date: March 21, 2014
Source: Novartis
