Centocor's CNTO 1275 impresses in psoriasis study

USA-based Centocor, a subsidiary of global health care major Johnson & Johnson, says that the results of a Phase II trial of its novel biologic CNTO 1275 show that it brings about significant skin clearance in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. The data are published in the current edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study demonstrated that the drug, which is a fully human monoclonal antibody that targets interleukins 12 and 23, allowed 81% of patients who received the 90mg four-weekly dosing regimen to achieve 75% improvements in psoriasis area severity index score (PASI-75) at week 12, compared with 2% of the placebo group.

Additionally, the results showed that 67% of the cohort which received 45mg as part of a four weekly regimen, 59% of those on a single 90mg dose and 52% of the group treated with one 45mg dose, achieved PASI-75 at week 12, respectively. The firm went on to say that significant improvements in symptoms were observed after only two weeks of treatment.