Psoriasis News and Research

Latest Psoriasis News and Research

Wound healers cause skin disease

Dutch researcher Manon Franssen has shown that cells which heal the skin following an injury play an important role in the development of the skin disease psoriasis. In people with psoriasis, the skin peels much faster than normal so that it flakes and becomes inflamed.

11 Oct 2004

Danish medical tycoon buys buying worldwide rights to 25 herbal medical products

Danish medical tycoon, Erik Sprunk-Jansen, former CEO of pharmaceutical company Lundbeck, now implements an ambitious venture to create a global company for herbal medicine.

1 Sep 2004

Cell biologists may have discovered a new effective therapy for psoriasis

About two million Germans suffer from psoriasis (from the Greek psora meaning ‘itching, scratching’). In this incurable disease the regeneration of the epidermis is speeded up enormously: whereas it normally renews itself in just under four weeks, this period is cut to four to seven days in psoriasis patients.

16 Aug 2004

Clinical benefit for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis patients treated with Raptiva for 30 months

Genentech and XOMA have announced preliminary 30-month (120 weeks) results from an open-label study evaluating the safety and efficacy of long-term continuous treatment with RAPTIVA® (efalizumab) in adults with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis.

2 Aug 2004

Y's Therapeutics files for clinical trials in Europe for rheumatoid arthritis and asthma

Y's Therapeutics, a privately held biopharmaceutical company, said today it has submitted applications to the Ethics Committee and Ministry of Health (BfArM) in Germany to begin Phase II clinical trials for its two most advanced projects, YSIL6 for rheumatoid arthritis and YSTH2 for asthma.

26 Jul 2004

New measurement tool to help treat vitiligo

Superstar Michael Jackson and more than 40 million others who suffer from a de-pigmenting skin disease now have a better way to predict the effectiveness of treatment, thanks to a clinical measurement tool created by a University of British Columbia dermatology researcher.

21 Jul 2004

Cost differences of methotrexate and cyclosporine to treat psoriasis neglible

The difference in cost associated with using two common treatments for psoriasis over the course of one year with treatment lasting 16 weeks are small.

21 Jun 2004

Remicade shows improvement in both the arthritis and psoriasis associated with psoriatic arthritis

In this trial, REMICADE provided a 70 percent improvement (as measured by ACR 70) in symptoms of arthritis in nearly one-third of patients, compared with only 2 percent of patients on placebo at 24 weeks.

10 Jun 2004

Connetics issued U.S. patent for emollient-foam technology

Connetics Corporation, a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops and commercializes dermatology products, announced today that on May 4, 2004 the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued to Connetics Patent No. 6,730,288 B1. The patent has 7 independent product claims, and covers a pharmaceutical aerosol foam composition having occlusive capability.

17 May 2004

FDA approves new drug Enbrel for psoriasis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the biologic drug etanercept (brand name Enbrel) to treat chronic, moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults.

1 May 2004

Study of an oral fumarate shows improvement in psoriasis

Biogen Idec and Fumapharm AG today announced results from a Phase II study of BG-12, an oral fumarate, in patients with severe psoriasis.

29 Apr 2004

Psoriasis medications can treat more than the skin

The National Psoriasis Foundation, Dermatology Nurses Association, Dermatologists and People with Psoriasis have collaborated to offer a new resource to help people with psoriasis cope with the social and emotional impact of psoriasis.

27 Apr 2004

Raptiva, 20 percent improvement in an individual's signs and symptoms of arthritis.

Genentech, Inc. and XOMA Ltd. today announced preliminary results of a randomized, placebo-controlled Phase II study with RAPTIVA™ (efalizumab) in 107 patients with psoriatic arthritis. The study did not reach statistical significance at 12 weeks (84 days) for the primary endpoint, ACR 20 response. An ACR 20 response indicates at least a 20 percent improvement in an individual's signs and symptoms of arthritis.

22 Mar 2004