NEW YORK (Reuters Health)—In patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, the incidence of atrial fibrillation and major adverse cardiovascular events does not differ between treatment with ustekinumab and TNF inhibitors, according to a large observational study. “Given a high cardiovascular risk among patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis,” Seoyoung C. Kim, MD, ScD, MSCE, told…

Ustekinumab May Be Effective for Lupus
New research underscores the possibility that interleukin (IL) 12, IL-23 or both play roles in the immunopathology of SLE. In the study, when added to standard-of-care treatment for active SLE, ustekinumab demonstrated better efficacy than placebo and had a safety profile consistent with that of ustekinumab therapy in other diseases…

Study Results for 9 New Psoriatic Arthritis Drugs
CHICAGO—As Eric Ruderman, MD, professor of medicine in rheumatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, began his talk on psoriatic arthritis treatment at the ACR State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium in April, he marveled a bit at how much there was to cover. Drugs gaining prominence in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and dermatological…

Risankizumab Promising for Psoriasis; Plus Canada Approves Brodalumab
Two Phase 3 clinical trials show that risankizumab is effective for achieving skin clearance in patients with psoriasis…

Rheumatology Drug Updates: Hip Fracture Rates After Bisphosphonate Drug Holidays, Plus More on Golimumab, Ustekinumab
Bisphosphonate Drug Holidays Drug holidays are common for patients on bisphosphonate therapy. Often, these breaks in treatment are related to known U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warnings and drug class adverse effects. Currently, data on fracture risk related to drug holidays are limited. In recent research highlighted at the 2017 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting ,…
J&J’s Stelara Shows Promise Against Lupus in Study
(Reuters)—Johnson & Johnson’s blockbuster psoriasis drug ustekinumab (Stelara) led to a significant reduction in disease activity in patients with systemic lupus compared with a placebo in a midstage clinical trial, according to data released on Nov. 4. Ustekinumab is already approved for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and Crohn’s disease and had third-quarter sales of $1.12 billion….

Ustekinumab Approved for Use in Adolescents with Plaque Psoriasis
In October, the FDA approved ustekinumab to treat patients 12 years or older who have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis…
Johnson & Johnson Discloses U.S. Probe Related to Arthritis Drugs
(Reuters) – Healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson said on Monday the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has opened an investigation concerning management and advisory services provided to rheumatology and gastroenterology practices that bought two of its drugs. The U.S. healthcare company said its Janssen Biotech Inc. unit received a civil investigative demand from the DOJ…

Ustekinumab Has Longer Efficacy Duration than TNFIs for Plaque Psoriasis
When compared with TNFIs, ustekinumab demonstrated a longer drug survival rate in patients with severe plaque psoriasis…
FDA Approves Ustekinumab for Crohn’s Disease
(Reuters)—Johnson & Johnson says on Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company’s psoriasis drug, ustekinumab (Stelara), for use in adults with Crohn’s disease. The drug is approved in the U.S. to treat plaque psoriasis and a type of arthritis associated with psoriasis. Crohn’s is a chronic inflammatory condition in the gastrointestinal…