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.
The drug, marketed by Amgen and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, is already approved to treat psoriatic arthritis.
The National Psoriasis Foundation hailed the news as continuing a historic new era for psoriasis patients. "Managing psoriasis is a lifelong battle, and patients frequently tell us they need additional treatment options," said Gail Zimmerman, president and CEO of the Psoriasis Foundation. "The last 18 months have brought several new choices for patients, and with Enbrel, we now have a drug approved for both psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. This is an exciting time for psoriasis patients and their families."
Psoriasis is an incurable skin disease that occurs when faulty signals in the immune system cause skin cells to regenerate too quickly, resulting in inflamed, scaly lesions that can itch, crack, bleed and be extremely painful.
Psoriatic arthritis is a degenerative disease of the joints and connective tissues associated with psoriasis.
About 1.5 million Americans have moderate to severe psoriasis, and an estimated one million Americans have psoriatic arthritis. "I have had great success with Enbrel," said Sally Housley, a Psoriasis Foundation member from Rio Rancho, New Mexico who has taken Enbrel for more than a year as part of a psoriasis clinical trial. "Psoriasis can be devastating, but Enbrel has done wonders for me. I feel like a totally new person, both physically and emotionally." Enbrel's approval for psoriasis continues the advance of biologics, a series of new drugs engineered from proteins produced by living cells.