Novartis announces NEJM publication of two phase III studies demonstrating high efficacy of secukinumab (AIN457) in psoriasis patients

Results of two phase III psoriasis studies consistently show rapid, very high skin clearance, sustained efficacy and an acceptable safety profile with secukinumab. More than 70% of secukinumab 300 mg patients experienced clear (PASI 100) or almost clear skin (PASI 90) during the first 16 weeks of treatment[ 1] - If approved, secukinumab could address a high unmet need for new psoriasis treatments, as up to 50% of patients are dissatisfied with current therapies , - Secukinumab is the first IL-17A inhibitor with phase III data presented in psoriasis and regulatory submissions filed with global health authorities The digital press release with multimedia content can be accessed here: Basel, 9 July 2014 - Novartis today announced that detailed results from two pivotal phase III studies evaluating the interleukin-17A (IL-17A) inhibitor secukinumab (AIN457) were published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine ( NEJM ). Secukinumab met all primary and key secondary endpoints at Week 12 in the ERASURE and FIXTURE studies, showing superiority to Enbrel * (etanercept) in improving moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis symptoms in the FIXTURE study, and superiority over placebo in both studies. Over half of secukinumab 300 mg patients experienced clear (PASI 100) or almost clear (PASI 90) skin, described as Psoriasis Area and Severity Index 90 or 100 (PASI 90/PASI 100) by Week 12 (59.2% for ERASURE and 54.2% for FIXTURE, p<0. In comparison, only 20.7% of Enbrel-treated patients experienced PASI 90 or 100 in FIXTURE.