Fujisawa Pharmaceutical and Teijin have launched their vitamin D3 analog tacalcitol in Japan for the treatment of keratosis, a symptom of a number of dermatological diseases including psoriasis. Tacalcitol was developed and is manufactured by Teijin, and promotion/ distribution activities will be carried out jointly by the two companies. The Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare approved tacalcitol, which will be marketed as Bonalfa ointment, on October 1.
Keratosis, defined as any horny growth of the skin caused by a disruption in the normal regulatory mechanism of the epidermal cell cycle, is a common feature of a number of diseases including psoriasis, ichthyosis, pustulosis palmaris et plantaris, palmoplantar keratoderma and pityriasis rubra pilaris. The drug has been approved for all these conditions, although the most common indication will be psoriasis.
Tacalcitol acts by suppressing epidermal cell proliferation and stimulating differentiation. Treatment with the ointment, which is applied to the affected area twice-daily, has been shown to achieve significant clearing of psoriatic patches in 83.1% of patients enrolled into clinical trials, with a low incidence of side effects (0.3% systemic side effects, 1.1% topical side effects).
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