Expert opinion on biological therapy
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Expert Opin Biol Ther · Aug 2019
Multicenter StudyEffectiveness and safety of secukinumab in Italian patients with psoriasis: an 84 week, multicenter, retrospective real-world study.
Background: Long term data on the real-life use of secukinumab are scant. The aim of this study was to investigate the real-life effectiveness, safety and treatment persistence of secukinumab in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis. Research design and methods: This 84-week, multicenter (n = 7) retrospective study analyzed data from patients who initiated and received at least 6 months of secukinumab treatment between June 2016 and June 2018 in the Campania region of Italy. ⋯ PASI, BSA and DLQI scores were significantly improved from baseline at every follow-up visit (p < 0.001) and mean PASI decreased from 15.3 ± 6.3 at baseline to 0.5 ± 1.0 at week 84. Secukinumab had comparable effectiveness in biologic naïve and non-naïve patients. Conclusions: This study confirmed the effectiveness and safety of secukinumab in real-world patients with psoriasis.
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Expert Opin Biol Ther · Aug 2019
Randomized Controlled TrialFremanezumab for the preventive treatment of migraine.
Introduction: The recent approval of monoclonal antibodies targeting the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) pathway introduced the first preventive treatments for migraine that were specifically designed to target the underlying pathophysiology of the disease. Fremanezumab, a fully humanized monoclonal antibody (IgG2Δa) administered via subcutaneous injection, is the first approved monoclonal antibody that targets the CGRP ligand and offers both quarterly (once every 3 months) and monthly dosing. Areas covered: An introduction to migraine, overview of the migraine preventive treatments that target CGRP or its receptor, background on CGRP, and details on the fremanezumab clinical development program in both chronic and episodic migraine. ⋯ Expert opinion: The approval of the first disease-specific preventive treatments for migraine heralds a new era in the treatment of migraine. Fremanezumab has a favorable efficacy and safety profile, which is maintained over the long term. Data from patient subgroups with more-complex disease are promising, and an ongoing study in treatment-refractory patients is evaluating the efficacy of fremanezumab in patients who have failed on multiple prior therapies.