Impacts of the plaque psoriasis treatment, seen from as early as four weeks, were sustained for the trial follow-up period.
Reassuring findings have come from the open-label extension of the BE RADIANT clinical trial, which found that bimekizumab was superior to secukinumab for plaque psoriasis after three years.
For the initial double-blind, multicentre trial, 743 patients were randomised to receive either bimekizumab or secukinumab for one year. Bimekizumab led to greater improvements in clinical outcomes, patient-reported symptoms and health-related quality than secukinumab.
More than 60% of patients receiving bimekizumab experienced resolution of itching, compared with 48% in the secukinumab group, and it was superior in terms of skin pain and scaling (79% vs 71% and 71% vs 50%, respectively).
Over 60% of the bimekizumab group experienced complete clearance, as opposed to 43% of those randomised to secukinumab.
It also worked faster than secukinumab, with nearly 12% of the bimekizumab group achieving a Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) of 0 and a Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) of 0/1 after just one dose, compared with less than 5% in the secukinumab group.
Results from phase 3b of the trial, published last month in JAMA Dermatology, demonstrated long-term durability of the response to treatment. The open-label extension continued for a further two years, during which participants originally randomised to secukinumab switched to bimekizumab.
A total of 654 participants completed the extension trial, receiving 320mg bimekizumab every four or eight weeks.
Patients who switched were able to “catch up” to those originally randomised to bimekizumab; by three years, 62% of the continuous bimekizumab group and 64% of the switched over group achieved complete clearance and improved quality of life.
Related
“It is important that psoriasis treatment decisions consider patient-perceived benefits alongside objective measures of disease severity,” authors wrote.
“In the present study, concurrent achievement rates of clinical outcomes and DLQI outcomes were greater after one dose of bimekizumab (week 4) and at year 1, compared to rates in secukinumab-treated patients.
“These concurrent achievement rates were maintained to 3 years for continuous bimekizumab-treated patients, and secukinumab/bimekizumab–treated patients achieved increased rates after switching to bimekizumab.”
