Ustekinumab Phase 3 data show long-term improvement of chronic plaque...(ough week 52 with continued treatment co...),Health

The Phase 3 efficacy and safety data for ustekinumab are extremely promising and offer hope to a patient population in need of additional therapeutic options, says Kim Papp, MD, PhD, Probity Medical Research, Waterloo, Ontario, and lead study investigator.

PHOENIX 1 evaluated the efficacy and safety of ustekinumab in the treatment of 766 patients with chronic plaque psoriasis. Patients were randomized to receive subcutaneously administered ustekinumab or placebo. Patients randomized to receive ustekinumab received 45 mg or 90 mg doses at weeks 0 and 4 followed by the same dose every 12 weeks. Patients in the placebo group crossed over to receive either 45 mg or 90 mg doses of ustekinumab at weeks 12 and 16 and every 12 weeks thereafter. The primary endpoint of the study was the proportion of patients achieving PASI 75 at week 12. Patients responding to ustekinumab through week 40 were randomized to either continue treatment with ustekinumab or were switched to placebo.

Through week 12 (the placebo-controlled portion of the study) the percentages of study participants experiencing at least one adverse event (AE) were comparable between the placebo group (48 percent) and the ustekinumab 45 mg group (57 percent) and 90 mg group (51 percent). Those patients experiencing at least one serious AE were reported as follows: 1 percent and 2 percent of patients receiving 45 mg or 90 mg ustekinumab, respectively, compared with 2 percent of patients receiving placebo. After the randomization at week 40, 46 percent and 49 percent of patients continuing treatment with 45 mg and 90 mg ustekinumab, respectively, experienced at least one AE, compared with 56 and 48 percent of patients switched to placebo. Serious AEs were observed in 0 and 1 percent of patients continuing treatment with 45 mg an
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