Ustekinumab Appears to Be Effective Against Psoriatic Arthritis

Several months ago, results of two pivotal trials demonstrated that ustekinumab is highly effective for patients with psoriasis vulgaris (JW Dermatol May 30 2008). For psoriasis, the drug is administered once, again at 4 weeks, and then every third month. In this double-blind, crossover, randomized trial in 146 patients with psoriatic arthritis, researchers employed a different dosing regimen: either 90 mg or 63 mg of ustekinumab or placebo for 4 consecutive weeks, followed by crossover at weeks 12 and 16. The primary endpoint was a 20% improvement in the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) score, the standard for approval of other biologic agents.

At week 12, 42% of the 76 ustekinumab recipients and 14% of placebo recipients achieved the…