SAN ANTONIO, TX, February 2, 2008 — One-year data from a second double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 study showed therapy with ustekinumab given every 12 weeks provided sustained, clinically meaningful improvement in the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis through one year. According to findings presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology, 87 percent of patients responding to ustekinumab 45 mg maintenance therapy and 91 percent of patients responding to ustekinumab 90 mg maintenance therapy sustained at least a 75 percent improvement in psoriasis through one year, as measured by the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI 75). Ustekinumab is a new human monoclonal antibody with a novel mechanism of action that targets the cytokines interleukin-12 (IL-12) and interleukin-23 (IL-23), naturally occurring proteins that are important in the body’s regulation of immune responses and that are also believed to play a role in immune-mediated inflammatory disorders, including psoriasis.
