Abbott's Humira effective as psoriasis therapy

USA-based health care major Abbott Laboratories says that new data, presented at the American Academy of Dermatology meeting, demonstrates that psoriasis sufferers treated with its drug Humira (adalimumab) experienced a significant reduction in symptoms.

The results of the REVEAL study, a Phase III program that assessed the product's safety and efficacy in 1,200 patients with moderate-to-severe forms of the condition, showed that 71% of subjects achieved a 75% improvement in psoriasis area and severity index score (PASI-75), compared with 6.5% of those who received placebo. In addition, the firm reported that nearly half (45%) of the treated patients achieved PASI-90, versus only 1.8% of the placebo group.

Abbott said that the findings, in combination with those derived from earlier assessments, including the European CHAMPION study which showed the drug brought about statistically superior symptom improvements when compared with methotrexate (Marketletter October 16, 2006), will form the basis of a regulatory submission to the Food and Drug Administration in the next few months.