Biologics and Psoriasis: The Beat Goes On

Abstract

Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated, inflammatory skin disease that requires long-term therapy for disease control. This article reviews data presented in clinical trials to evaluate and compare various characteristics of biologics that are currently approved for the treatment of psoriasis. Attributes of biological agents that are examined in this article include efficacy, long-term maintenance, overall safety, median time to onset of efficacy, adjustment for body weight, frequency of injections, indication for psoriatic arthritis, and safety in pregnancy. Here, we evaluate what the ideal choice of biological therapy may be for psoriasis patients with specific needs.

Keywords: Biologics; Efficacy; Psoriasis; Psoriatic arthritis; Safety; Th17/IL-23 axis.