From the analyst's couch
Biologics for psoriasis
Daniel B. Dubin, William Tanner & Ronald Ellis
Daniel Dubin, M.D., is the President of MEDACorp, Senior Managing Director of Healthcare Strategy at Leerink Swann and a board certified dermatologist. William Tanner, Ph.D., is a Managing Director and Director of Equity Research at Leerink Swann. Ronald Ellis, D.O., is a Senior Vice President and biotech analyst at Leerink Swann & Co., One Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, USA.
billt@leerink.com
rone@leerink.com
According to the National Psoriasis Foundation, psoriasis affects approximately 4.5 million adults in the United States. Of those, almost one-third have a moderate-to-severe form of the disease, which often requires administration of systemic therapies under the care of a dermatologist. The negative impact on quality of life is significant, and statistics indicate that 75% of persons with moderate-to-severe psoriasis feel that the disease has a moderate-to-large impact on their everyday lives. Although effective, the chronic use of systemic drugs, such as methotrexate (MTX) (Box 1), poses safety concerns. In contrast to MTX and cyclosporine, which target pathways common to all cells, novel biological therapies target specific components of the immune system and might provide a more attractive balance of safety and efficacy.....
nature.com |
