Enbrel cleared for psoriasis in EU

The European Commission has approved the use of Wyeth/Amgen's Enbrel (etanercept) for the treatment of adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis for whom phototherapy or conventional systemic treatments have been inadequate or are inappropriate.

This follows the recent recommendation by the European Union's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (Marketletter August 9).

The decision was based on data from two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase III trials involving more than 1,200 patients. "People with moderate-to-severe psoriasis treated with Enbrel experienced rapid relief of symptoms in as early as two weeks, and this effect was sustained for up to 24 weeks," noted Joseph Camardo, senior vice president, global medical affairs at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.