Apremilast Phase III Results Show Efficacy Over Time for Psoriasis

Results from a new Phase III study presented at the AAD Meeting in Miami demonstrate the efficacy of the oral molecule apremilast (Celgene) in psoriasis patients. The ESTEEM 1 study evaluated efficacy and safety in a range of patients, approximately one-third of which was systemic and/or phototherapy treatment-naïve. Additionally, nearly 30 percent of the overall study population had prior biologic therapy, which included biologic-failures. Results show that a significantly higher percentage of apremilast-treated patients demonstrated PASI-75 at week 16 than did placebo patients (33.1% vs. 5.3%), including systemic-naïve and biologic-naïve patients receiving apremilast 30 mg BID compared with placebo (38.7% vs. 7.6%, and 35.8% vs. 5.9%, respectively). Moreover, apremilast demonstrated maintenance of effect over time, demonstrating a 54.9 percent reduction at week 16 and a 61.9 percent reduction at week 32.