Positive Ph III results for Lilly's ixekizumab in psoriatic arthritis

US pharma major Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) says that the investigational drug ixekizumab was statistically superior to placebo in the treatment of patients with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA), as demonstrated by the proportion of patients achieving an ACR 20 response.

ACR 20 is a standard assessment that represents a 20% reduction in disease signs and symptoms as defined by the American College of Rheumatology response criteria. During the 24-week, Phase III study, titled SPIRIT-P1, patients who were naïve to biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARD) were treated with one of two different ixekizumab dosing regimens or placebo. In both dosing regimens, ixekizumab-treated patients demonstrated significant improvements versus placebo in signs and symptoms of active PsA.

"Psoriatic arthritis is a debilitating disease associated with progressive joint damage and skin involvement, and also has a significant impact on a person's quality of life," said Anthony Ware, senior vice president, Lilly Bio-Medicines Product Development. "These results strengthen our belief that ixekizumab may have the potential to help people confronting this challenging disease," Dr Ware added.