Brodalumab Proven Superior to Stelara in Plaque Psoriasis

Amgen and AztraZeneca’s third and final trial examining brodalumab in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis proved that 2 doses of the drug generated better results compared with placebo and Janssen’s ustekinumab (Stelara).

In the study, 1800 patients were analyzed on the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI), and at week 12, a greater number of individuals taking brodalumab achieved at least a 75% improvement from baseline.

In addition, 44.4% of patients taking brodalumab 210 mg, 33.6% of patients in the brodalumab weight-based group, 25.7% of patients taking brodalumab 140 mg, 21.7% of patients taking Stelara, and 0.06% of patients taking a placebo achieved PASI 100.

"Results from AMAGINE-2 underscore that treatment with brodalumab could help a significant number of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis patients achieve total clearance of their skin disease, and the great majority achieve at least a 75 percent improvement in their disease," said Sean E. Harper, MD, executive vice president of research and development at Amgen, in a press release.

Some of the common adverse side effects were headaches, joint pain, colds, and upper respiratory tract infections.

According to AstraZeneca and Amgen, brodalumab is unique in that it binds to the interleukin-17 (IL-17) receptor, which prevents inflammatory signaling by blocking the binding of several IL-17 cytokines to the receptor.