Enbrel Effective, Safe Among Patients Who Lost Response to Humira

Using Enbrel (etanercept; Amgen) for treatment of plaque psoriasis was safe and effective among patients who lost response to Humira (adalimumab; AbbVie), according to recent data presented at the 2016 AAD Summer Annual Meeting.

According to the presentation, patients with plaque psoriasis are usually effectively managed with adalimumab or etanercept; however, some patients experience a secondary failure of response after an initially successful treatment.

In order to determine the efficacy of etanercept as a replacement for patients with plaque psoriasis who lost response to adalimumab, the researchers conducted a phase IV, single-arm, estimation study with patients aged older than 18 years. Study participants underwent a 45-day screening period followed by a 24-week treatment period. Participants were also those who currently received or discontinued adalimumab within 6 months of initiation. These patients initially had a satisfactory response, defined as a System Physician’s Global Assessment (sPGA) score of clear/almost clear, but then experienced a loss of response defined as an sPGA score of moderate or worse. 

Patients were administered 50 mg of etanercept twice weekly for 12 weeks, followed by 50 mg once weekly for an additional 12 weeks. The researchers conducted follow-up at about 30 days after the final dose was administered.

Study results showed that among all the patients treated, 39.7% maintained sPGA scores of clear/almost clear throughout the study period. 

The researchers noted that anti-adalimumab antibodies were present in a significant amount of patients; however, these antibodies did not seem to affect treatment with etanercept. Among patients with anti-adalimumab antibodies, the rate of clear/amost clear sPGA scores was 45%, compared with 35% among patients without anti-adalimumab antibodies.

No new safety signals were observed; severe adverse events associated with treatment included one case of ischemic colitis. –David Costill