Relief at last from misery of psoriasis
BRITISH psoriasis patients have been relieved of the disfiguring condition, thanks to a £10,000-a-year treatment, the first to offer a true alternative to ‘sledgehammer’ options such as chemotherapy or organ transplant anti-rejection drugs.
The medication, licensed earlier this year, is the first to target the key cause of the disfiguring, painful skin condition affecting 1.8million Britons. One high-profile sufferer is model and actress Cara Delevingne, who blames her workload for causing it.
Leading specialist Professor Chris Griffiths says the new treatment, Cosentyx, could be the most significant development in the past decade. ‘We are seeing patients with no disease for a year or more. This is not a cure, but if you can keep people symptom-free for long periods it’s a huge advance.’
David Powell has suffered no symptoms since starting on the drug in trials in 2012. Within a month he saw ‘a real difference’. After three months the 30-yearold helicopter engineer from Yeovil was clear of the red, inflamed and scaly patches that had covered his scalp, upper arms and torso.
He said: ‘It’s a miracle – it’s like I’ve been cured.’
In studies published last summer, the drug outperformed other drugs approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).
Psoriasis is triggered by an immune system fault, causing overproduction of skin cells. It runs in families; one sufferer in three has a close relative with the condition.
Trials found eight out of ten patients saw a 75 per cent improvement after using Cosentyx for 12 weeks. Seven out of ten saw a 90 per cent improvement by week 16. Four out of ten found their symptoms disappeared completely.
About 20 per cent of psoriasis patients have a moderate to severe form of the disease. Cosentyx could help as many as 150,000 who suffer from the worst effects.
The once-a-month injection, self-administered at home by the patient, is in a class of drugs called human monoclonal antibodies. These are aimed at the parts of the immune system known to make proteins called interleukins, thought to be faulty in the amounts of serum they release.
Cosentyx is thought to out-gun its rival monoclonal antibodies by directly targeting the interleukin IL-17A.
Prof Griffiths, of Royal Salford Hospital, said: ‘In the past we have had to use quite broad spectrum drugs such as methotrexate [used to treat cancer] or cyclosporin [used for rejection in organ transplants].’
Specialists are reluctant to prescribe such powerful medicines for all but the most severe cases, calling this ‘a sledgehammer to crack a nut’.
Prof Griffiths added: ‘They have worked for some patients but eventually they fail or we have to stop treatment due to toxicity.’ Dr Mark Tomlinson, a skin specialist for Cosentyx’s maker, Novartis, said: ‘In those without psoriasis, the immune system is like an orchestra – each section perfectly balanced and working harmoniously together. When a person has psoriasis, it can be compared to one violinist in the orchestra playing out of tune. It dominates the sound and rhythm. This is IL-17A, the maverick violinist.’
Prof Griffiths said: ‘This condition takes such an emotional toll – these results will change a lot of lives. One of my patients is swimming for the first time in 30 years as she now has the confidence to wear a swimming costume.’
For Mr Powell, it means he no longer has to cover up on holiday or rush into the pool before anyone sees him. Three years on from starting on the trial his skin is disease-free.
He says: ‘My wife has noticed how I’m more relaxed now. I never dreamed it would be possible.’