Scaly Skin as Cruel as Cancer Spurs Psoriasis Treatment
This article is for subscribers only.
Psoriasis, with its patches of itchy, flaky skin, is often nothing more than a benign cosmetic problem. Yet for many people it’s as disabling and threatening as rheumatoid arthritis or cancer.
These patients often don’t tolerate existing medicines, or see them lose their power over time. Pharmaceutical companies, helped by a new understanding of the biology behind the disease, have developed a new class of drug candidates that may be faster and more effective for the more serious forms of psoriasis. The front runner, Novartis AG, said yesterday that its experimental treatment met the main goals of a late-stage study.