Lilly Korea’s biological agent Taltz (ingredient: ixekizumab) used as psoriasis treatment is expected to have a significant impact on rival products owing to its higher efficacy, an expert said.

Existing biological agents used as psoriasis treatment include Novartis Korea’s Cosentyx (secukinumab, approved in September 2015), Janssen Korea’s Stelara (ustekinumab, approved in June 2011), Korea Abbie’s Humira (adalimumab, approved in July 2006), and Pfizer Korea’s Enbrel (etanercept, approved in December 2007).

In the treatment of psoriasis which occurs in 0.4 percent of the population, biological agents are used in a limited group of patients with severe psoriasis, or 10-25 percent of the total psoriasis patients. Physicians recommend a series of treatments in a phased way for psoriasis patients, going from correcting lifestyle to using moisturizer, to using creams and then to getting light treatment. After that, patients move on to try an oral medicine, then to finally, a biological agent.

Taltz, which obtained the nod in December, showed superior effectiveness in clinical trials that compared directly with Enbrel and Stelara. Some experts predict that Taltz will be more effective than Cosentyx, which has the same mechanism.

Choe Yong-beom, a professor of dermatology at Konkuk University Medical Center

“We need comparative clinical trials to get a precise analysis. But Taltz seems to have similar or even better efficacy than Cosentyx when compared indirectly through meta-analysis of existing drug reports and studies,” said Choe Yong-beom, a professor of dermatology at Konkuk University Medical Center, at a news conference by Lilly Korea, Tuesday.

“As both drugs have the same mechanism to inhibit interleukin 17A, their side effects and efficacy will not be very different,” he said.

Choe went on to say that physicians should note the different dosing schedules of the two drugs. Cosentyx is administered once every four weeks, after one week of induction, and Taltz, once every four weeks, after two weeks of induction.

In a comparative clinical trial called IXORA-S, 72.8 percent of patients treated with Taltz reached the Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) 90 at 12 weeks, 1.7 times higher than 42.2 percent of patients who achieved PASI 90 after Stelara treatment.

Also, Taltz helped 36 percent of patients to achieve the perfect remission of PASI 100, higher than 14.5 percent of patients treated with Stelara.

In a comparative trial with Enbrel, UNCOVER-1,2,3, 70 percent of patients administered with Taltz reached PASI 90, dwarfing 22 percent of patients who achieved PASI 90 after Enbrel treatment. In attaining PASI 100, 40.5 percent and 37.7 percent of patients treated with Taltz reached the goal, while only 5.3 percent and 7.3 percent of patients treated with Enbrel did so.

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