For pediatric patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, secukinumab dosing regimens are efficacious and well tolerated, according to a study published online Sept. 20 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Nina Magnolo, M.D., from University Hospital Münster in Germany, and colleagues examined the efficacy and safety of two dosage regimens of secukinumab (low dose and high dose) stratified and randomly assigned by weight and disease severity. The phase III, open-label, randomized study was conducted in pediatric patients aged 6 to <18 years with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

The researchers found that with respect to a 75 percent or greater reduction in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI75)/PASI90 and the proportion of patients who achieved an investigator global assessment (IGA) score of cleared (0) or minimal (1; IGA0/1) responses at week 12, both secukinumab doses were superior to historical placebo. For secukinumab low- or high-dose, the estimated probability of a positive treatment effect was 1 (i.e., 100 percent) compared with historical placebo. At week 12, the IGA0/1 response rates were 78.6 and 83.3 percent and the PASI90 response rates were 69 and 76.2 percent for low and high doses, respectively. The PASI75 response rate was 92.9 percent for both doses.

"High efficacy response-rates (PASI75 response rate of >92 percent, PASI90 response rate of ≥69 percent, and IGA0/1 response rate of >78 percent for both doses) were observed for the coprimary and secondary end points at week 12, which continued to improve further until week 24 in both dose groups," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, including Novartis Pharma, which manufactures secukinumab and funded the study.

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