Study Demonstrates Efficacy of Adalimumab in Pediatric Plaque Psoriasis

Results from a novel phase 3 study show treatment with adalimumab (Humira/AbbVie) produces favorable outcomes in young patients with plaque psoriasis.

The study results were presented at the 23^rd World Congress of Dermatology (WCD) in Vancouver. Adalimumab is the sole biologic treatment approved in Europe for patients starting from four years old suffering from severe chronic plaque psoriasis.

The pediatric patients who participated in the study (114 total, all between the ages of 4 and 18) had an “inadequate response to or are inappropriate candidates for topical therapy and phototherapies.”

At the 16-week mark, a larger proportion of pediatric chronic plaque psoriasis patients treated with adalimumab 0.8mg/kg every alternating week attained a Psoriasis Area Severity Index (PASI) 75 response compared to patients who were treated with methotrexate (57.9% vs. 32.4%).

Additionally, nearly 20% more patients treated with adalimumab achieved a Physicians Global Assessment (PGA) score of clear or minimal (0/1) at the 16-week compared to those who were treated with methotrexate (60.5% vs. 40.5%).

Study investigator Kim Papp, MD, PhD, founder and president of Probity Medical Research in Waterloo, Ontario, said, “Psoriasis can have significant physical and psychological effects on the young patients it impacts. These findings support Humira as a safe ad efficacious first-line option for the treatment of severe pediatric plaque psoriasis when topical or phototherapies don’t work.”

John Medich, PhD, vice president of clinical development, immunology at AbbVie, said, “These Phase 3 data build on more than 16 years of clinical research in [adalimumab] , further establishing its safety and efficacy profile, even in young patients.”