my personal edition > psoriasis > news


  E-Mail this DGNews to a colleague

DGNews

Health Canada Approves Enbrel (Etanercept) for Psoriasis treatment

MISSISSAUGA, CANADA -- February 9, 2006 -- Psoriasis sufferers living with disfiguring and painful skin lesions have improved prospects for symptom-free remission, following the announcement that Health Canada has approved EnbrelŪ (etanercept), an innovative biologic therapy for treatment of this debilitating autoimmune disorder.

Affecting more than one million Canadians, psoriasis is a chronic skin condition often characterized by raised, inflamed, red lesions covered by silvery white scales.

Biologic medications are a newer class of drugs which function differently than traditional psoriasis treatments by targeting the immune system at the cellular level. Enbrel helps regulate the process that leads to the inflammation of psoriasis and has demonstrated rapid and significant clearing in many patients.

In fact, after 6 months of therapy over half of patients are clear of psoriasis or have minimal lesions while the majority (77%) of patients shows at least a 50% improvement in symptoms.[1]

"In addition to pain and the ongoing threat of infections and general physical debilitation, the emotional burden of psoriasis is often underestimated even by physicians," says Dr. Yves Poulin, Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine at Laval University, Quebec City. "The approval of Enbrel for psoriasis treatment marks major progress in our ability to treat this disease more effectively and with improved safety."

While psoriasis has a physical impact on the body, it can affect a person's emotional well-being. A study published in Lancet last month showed that Enbrel also reduces patient depression and fatigue, both major aspects of psoriasis[2]. Research has also shown that sufferers often battle sexual dysfunction, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.[3]

Administered from a pre-filled syringe or a lyophilized vial, Enbrel works by deactivating tumor necrosis factor (TNF), one of the dominant immune system messengers that stimulates overproduction of skins cells and promotes inflammation. Its unique mechanism of action means it can be used continuously, without the need for periodic breaks in treatment. Other than injection site reactions, no adverse events occurred at increased frequency with Enbrel compared to respective control groups in psoriasis trials.

On December 20th, 2005, Enbrel received Notice of Compliance from Health Canada for treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis in adults. Previously, Health Canada has approved Enbrel for a number of other diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. More than 337,000 patients worldwide, including 74,000 with psoriasis, have used Enbrel, and it has more than 450,000 patient-years of post-market exposure.

About Psoriasis
Psoriasis tends to run in families[4] and usually appears in people who are between ages 15 and 35, but it can strike at any age[5]. Psoriasis triggers include: emotional stress, injury to the skin, some types of infection and reaction to certain drugs. Plaque psoriasis is the most common form of the disease, with red skin lesions covered by silvery scales which come loose and shed continually.

Studies show that patients with psoriasis reported a reduction in physical and mental functioning comparable to that seen in cancer, arthritis, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and depression.[6] It is estimated that psoriasis costs the Canadian economy approximately $1.3 billion a year[7].

REFERENCES:
1. Gottlieb, A, et al. A Randomized Trial of Etanercept as Monotherapy for Psoriasis. Arch Dermatol. Dec 2003 Vol 139. 1627-1632.
2. Tyring S. et al. Etanercept and clinical outcomes, fatigue, and depression in psoriasis: double-blind placebo-controlled randomised phase III trial. Lancet. 2005 Dec 14; 366:
3. Russo, PA, et al. Psychiatric Morbidity in Psoriasis: A Review. Australas J Dermatol. 2004 Aug; 45(3): 155-9.
4. Elder J.T et al. The genetics of psoriasis 2001: the odyssey continues. Arch Dermatol. 2001 Nov;137(11):1447-54
5. Canadian Dermatology Association, Understanding Psoriasis www. dermatology.ca.
6. Rapp SR et al. Psoriasis Causes as Much Disability as other Major Medical Diseases. J Am Acad Dermatol. 199 Sep;41 (3 pt 1):401-7
7. Piwko C. et al. Economic Burden of Moderate to Severe Chronic Plaque Psoriasis in Canada. Presented at the Canadian Association for Population Therapeutics Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC, April 2005.


SOURCE: Amgen Canada and Wyeth Canada

E-Mail this DGNews to a colleague

To print, use this version