Psoriatic arthritis: New drug Bimzelx shows promise as treatment

Evan Walker
Evan Walker TheMediTary.Com |
A BIMZELX injector pen for psoriatic arthritisShare on Pinterest
The new Bimzelx injectable medication has shown promise in treating psoriatic arthritis. Maskot/Getty Images
  • Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a common and difficult-to-treat condition that often occurs with psoriasis.
  • The drug company UCB recently developed a new PsA treatment called Bimzelx.
  • Bimzelx appears to be effective even in individuals who have not previously responded to treatment.
  • The drug is now approved in multiple countries, most recently Japan.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is an immune-mediated musculoskeletal condition that affects around 30% of people with a history of psoriasis.

The main symptoms are pain, swelling, and stiffness in one or more joints as well as swollen fingers or toes, nails changing color, small pits in nails, and the feeling of being drained of energy.

The condition can impact people’s quality of life and their day-to-day activities.

When someone develops PsA, doctors usually initially prescribe conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (Health">DMARDs). Doctors commonly recommend these drugs for a range of inflammatory joint conditions.

However, if these do not work well, the doctor may switch to (or add) biologic DMARDs, such as tumour necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors (TNFi-IR). These drugs are highly specific and target a particular immune system pathway to reduce inflammation.

While these drugs often relieve symptoms and slow the disease’s progress, not everyone responds to the current drugs and even those who do are often left with ongoing symptoms.

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