CHMP recommends Cosentyx (secukinumab) to treat psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis- Novartis

Novartis announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended the approval of Cosentyx (secukinumab) in Europe to treat ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients. Following two separate regulatory submissions, Cosentyx is now recommended for the treatment of active AS in adults who have responded inadequately to conventional therapy, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and for the treatment of active PsA in adult patients alone or in combination with methotrexate (MTX) when the response to previous disease modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD) therapy has been inadequate.

Cosentyx is the first of a new class of medicines called interleukin-17A (IL-17A) inhibitors to be recommended for AS and PsA – conditions that affect around five million people in Europe. Both are life-long, painful and debilitating inflammatory diseases that affect the joints and/or spine. If not treated effectively, both conditions can lead to irreversible joint and/or spinal damage caused by years of inflammation.

Comment: New treatment options with an alternative way of working are needed for both conditions as many patients do not achieve an adequate response from standard treatments, such as DMARDs, NSAIDs or anti-TNF therapies. For example, with the current biologic standard of care – anti-TNFs – up to 45% of PsA patients and up to 40% of AS patients are dissatisfied with, do not respond to or do not tolerate their treatment.