Improved Work-, Study-Related Productivity Shown With Tildrakizumab in Patients With Psoriasis

Patients with moderate to severe psoriasis treated with tildrakizumab (Ilumya) were associated with improved work-/study-related productivity compared with placebo, with improvements shown to increase with continued treatment through 1 year. Findings of the abstract were published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Characterized as a high-affinity anti–IL-23p19 monoclonal antibody, tildrakizumab is approved for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. The systemic biologic therapy has demonstrated efficacy and safety for up to 5 years in clinical studies, including significant improvement in difficult-to-treat areas of psoriasis among real-world patients.

Reduced work productivity and quality of life have been demonstrated in patients with psoriasis, which is exacerbated further with increasing severity. A 2019 analysis revealed the substantial economic burden of psoriasis due to work-related productivity loss, which ranged from $4095 for patients with mild psoriasis to $16,252 for patients with severe psoriasis. Moreover, the results showed that costs due to work-related productivity loss increased with increasing patient income.

Researchers sought to assess the effect of tildrakizumab treatment on work- and study-related productivity in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis from the phase 3 reSURFACE 1 and 2 (NCT01722331/NCT01729754) trials.

In reSURFACE 1 and 2 (64 weeks/52 weeks), adult patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis were randomized to tildrakizumab 100 mg, tildrakizumab 200 mg, or placebo. At week 12, patients initially given placebo were rerandomized to tildrakizumab 100 mg or 200 mg.

Tildrakizumab was administered at week 0, week 4, and every 12 weeks thereafter. The impact of disease on a patient’s ability to work and/or study was evaluated via the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) questionnaire.

The pooled analysis from the reSURFACE 1 and 2 trials included patients randomized to tildrakizumab 100 mg or 200 mg or placebo with baseline DLQI work/study domain score greater than 0. Observed data from patients achieving a DLQI work/study score of 0 at week 12, week 28, and week 64/week 52 were then compared between the cohorts.

A total of 913 patients with baseline DLQI work/study score greater than 0 were included in the study, of which 382 were randomized to tildrakizumab 100 mg, 356 to tildrakizumab 200 mg, and 175 to placebo. Baseline characteristics were indicated to be comparable.

Findings showed that the proportion of patients achieving DLQI work/study score of 0 improved at week 12, week 28, and week 64/week 52 for patients treated with tildrakizumab 100 and 200 mg vs placebo:

• DLQI work/study score of 0 at week 12: tildrakizumab 100mg/200 mg vs placebo (77.9% [n = 382] and 74.9% [n = 356] vs 34.9% [n = 175] for placebo)
• DLQI work/study score of 0 at week 28: tildrakizumab 100mg/200 mg (81.3% [n = 366] and 85.0% [n = 340])
• DLQI work/study score of 0 at week 64/week 52: tildrakizumab 100mg/200 mg (90.1% [n = 207] and 89.0% [n = 131]).

“Tildrakizumab improved work/study-related productivity in patients after only 2 doses,” concluded the study authors.

Reference

Augustin M, Mrowietz U, Du Jardin KG, Kasujee I, Dauden E. Effect of tildrakizumab on work/study-related productivity: pooled analysis from reSURFACE 1 and reSURFACE 2 phase 3 trials. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2022;87(3 suppl):AB161. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2022.06.674