The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 280 No 7485 p40
19 January 2008

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Etanercept works for paediatric psoriasis

Tumour necrosis factor inhibitor etanercept has been shown to reduce the severity of plaque psoriasis in children and adolescents with moderate to severe disease in a recently published study (New England Journal of Medicine 2008;358:241).

Researchers randomised 211 patients aged four to 17 years to receive weekly injections of etanercept (0.8mg/kg) or placebo for 12 weeks, followed by weekly open-label injections of etanercept for all subjects for 24 weeks.

The researchers then randomised 138 of the patients to receive a further 12 weeks’ treatment with either etanercept or placebo to observe the effects of withdrawal and retreatment.

At week 12, 57 per cent of etanercept-treated patients had achieved the primary endpoint for efficacy (at least 75 per cent improvement in psoriasis severity; PASI 75) compared with 11 per cent of patients on placebo (P<0.0001).

After the 24 weeks of open-label etanercept, 68 per cent of patients from the initial treatment group and 65 per cent of patients who were formerly on placebo achieved PASI 75. The investigators observed a loss of response in 42 per cent of patients assigned to placebo for the final phase of the trial.