A new therapeutic for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis: apremilast. (3rd March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chiricozzi, Andrea; Caposiena, Dante; Garofalo, Virginia; Cannizzaro, Maria Vittoria; Chimenti, Sergio; Saraceno, Rosita
• Is Part Of: Expert review of clinical immunology. Volume 12:Number 3(2016)
• Page Start: 237
• Page End: 249
• Publication Date: 2016-03-03
• Subjects: Psoriasis -- phosphodiesterase inhibitor -- small molecule -- apremilast -- otezla -- oral drug; Clinical immunology -- Periodicals; 616.079
• DOI: 10.1586/1744666X.2016.1134319
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1744-666X

Abstract

SUMMARY: Psoriasis is a common, chronic, inflammatory skin disease. Being a life-long condition, a prolonged and safe control of the disease is needed. Current anti-psoriatic treatments show some limits in terms of tolerability and route of administration. Recently, a new oral small molecule, apremilast, has been approved for the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Apremilast is a phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitor that regulates the transduction of intracellular signals, including pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory pathways. Because of the favorable safety profile and the oral route of administration, apremilast may represent a promising therapeutic target for moderate-to-severe psoriasis. In this review, we report an updated overview about clinical trials testing apremilast in the treatment of psoriasis and seek to provide comprehensive information about this anti-psoriatic drug and a future perspective of the therapeutic algorithm for psoriasis.