WEDNESDAY, June 4, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with plaque psoriasis, there is no difference in the effectiveness of adalimumab monotherapy versus adalimumab with concomitant methotrexate, according to a study published online June 4 in JAMA Dermatology.

Zenas Z. N. Yiu, Ph.D., from the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom, and colleagues examined the effectiveness of using methotrexate with adalimumab in people with plaque psoriasis in a target trial emulation cohort study. The study included 231 participants in the intervention arm (adalimumab, 40 mg, every other week and methotrexate weekly, with the dosage determined by the clinician) and 1,553 participants in the comparator arm (adalimumab, 40 mg, every other week).

The researchers found that drug survival at one year was 78.1 and 79.1 percent for the comparator and intervention arms, with no evidence of difference. A 75 percent reduction in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index at one and three years occurred in 52.0 and 32.4 percent, respectively, in the comparator arm and 49.4 and 37.2 percent, respectively, in the intervention arm; no evidence was seen for differences at one year and three years. There was also no evidence seen for a difference between the arms in terms of serious adverse events and adalimumab concentrations; the intervention arm had a lower antidrug antibody level.

"Given the importance of adalimumab and methotrexate as accessible treatment options globally, the results of this study potentially have broad-reaching clinical implications worldwide," the authors write. "Methotrexate may not a good option to use along with adalimumab as it does not come with substantial therapeutic benefit but may increase the risk of serious infections."

Several authors disclosed ties to the biopharmaceutical industry.

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