Efalizumab/Raptiva – Genetech Inc/Serono Int (www.raptiva.com)

How does it work?

Raptiva is a therapeutic antibody designed to selectively and reversibly block the activation, reactivation and trafficking of T-cells around the body and into the skin.

How is it administered?

Patients inject themselves with a pre-filled syringe once a week (1mg per kg weight, max 200mg per vial). The treatment is continuous.

What are the side effects?

In trials, common side effects included flu-like symptoms, chills, headaches, nausea and upset stomach. However these only tended to last for the first few doses and were dosage-related (the higher the dose, the more likely to experience the side effects). If an initial 0.7 mg ‘conditioning dose’ was used before the ‘maintenance’ 1mg per kg weekly dose, these lessened considerably.

However, these are short term side effects. The long term effects cannot be calculated until the drug has been widely used for many years across a large number of patients.

What are the results?

In trials, a very positive result was experienced within weeks of beginning the treatment. At three months, 75% of patients experienced a 50% improvement, with 20% overall seeing near-total remission.

However, if the drug is discontinued the psoriasis returns.

The licensing of these drugs is an ongoing process.

Infliximab/Remicade and Humira/Adalimumab are two biological drugs licensed for the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis, but also found to help Chrohn’s Disease and Psoriatic Arthritis/psoriasis sufferers.