The average drug survival time was 20 months, with 79 patients (45%) discontinuing therapy due to primary ineffectiveness (n=40), secondary ineffectiveness (n=26), adverse events (n=9) and additional reasons (n=3). The reported adverse events were no different from those reported in previous secukinumab clinical trials.
For the study, the researchers pooled retrospective data of patients who had tried other treatments but still had active disease. About 90% of patients had been treated with a DMARD and 67% of the patients had been treated with biologic agents before using secukinumab.
In this real-world setting, secukinumab-treated patients responded positively, with 47% of patients obtaining remission or low disease activity. In approval clinical trials, patients rarely vary by many parameters. This study showed that despite this patient population’s high percentage (47%) of axial involvement, previous biologic DMARD treatment (77%) and multiple co-morbidities, secukinumab therapy response was still high. Additionally, patients’ adverse event profiles were similar to those previously reported in clinical trials.
Michele B. Kaufman, PharmD, BCGP, is a freelance medical writer based in New York City and a pharmacist at New York Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital.
Reference
- Lopez MM, Valero M, Emperiale V, et al. Real-world experience of secukinumab for psoriatic arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2019 Jun;78 (suppl 2):A915.
