The Korean branch of Eli Lilly said that it had gained additional reimbursement for its psoriasis treatment Taltz (Ingredient: ixekizumab) as first-line biologic therapy for patients with psoriatic arthritis.
Under the latest revision, the government will reimburse the treatment for patients with active and progressive psoriasis that received treatment with two or more types of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs for six months or more and experienced the insufficient therapeutic effect or discontinued treatment due to side effects.
However, patients must have three or more tender joints and swollen joints, and these should be the result of two consecutive measurements at a one-month interval.
“Taltz received approval to treat psoriatic arthritis in July 2019. However, unlike the approval, the treatment was limited as patients who were eligible for benefits included those that did not respond to tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α) inhibitor,” the company said. “With this expansion of the reimbursement standard, patients with psoriatic arthritis who have failed conventional systemic treatment can quickly consider Taltz treatment from the first stage of treatment.”
According to Lilly, Taltz is the first biologic to achieve the primary endpoint through the SPIRIT-H2H phase 3b/4 clinical study in direct comparison with the existing biologic adalimumab.
“Based on the excellent research results of Taltz SPIRIT-H2H, major global academic circles revised the guidelines for treating psoriatic arthritis early,” the company said. “The European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) recommends considering IL-17 inhibitors along with TNF-α inhibitors in patients with psoriatic arthritis with peripheral arthritis, clear osseous site inflammation, or axial disease when conventional treatment fails.”
The association indicated that IL-17 inhibitors should be used first for patients with skin symptoms, it added.
“Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic immune disease in which symptoms occur simultaneously in the musculoskeletal system and the skin, and severe patients may experience deformities, physical dysfunction, and reduced quality of life,” Lilly Korea CEO Alberto Riva also said.
He added that the company expects this expansion of the reimbursement standard to allow psoriatic arthritis patients to consider a faster and more effective treatment option with Taltz after failing conventional systemic treatment.