A review of clinical trials of biologic agents and small molecules for psoriasis in Asian subjects

Biologics are increasingly used in the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis. However, most of the pivotal studies were performed mainly in western countries. The purpose of this review article was to compare the differences of clinical trial results between Asian and Western subjects of psoriasis regarding baseline demographics, efficacy, dermatology life quality index, safety and antidrug antibodies.

In this review article, we searched the PubMed/Medline, ClinicalTrials.gov, and posters from main dermatologic meetings.

Only randomized controlled trial results or trial results for registration purposes of etanercept, adalimumab, infliximab, ustekinumab, secukinumab, brodalumab, ixekizumab, guselkumab, tofacitinib, and apremilast are included.

Asian subjects were generally 15-20 Kgs lighter, with fewer psoriatic arthritis, shorter disease duration since diagnosis, and higher baseline severity compared to western subjects. Better efficacy had been found in some studies such as secukinumab, brodalumab, ixekizumab, and tofacitinib in Japanese groups. The safety in Asian trials was generally compatible with the pivotal studies, except for the occurrence of active tuberculosis in the infliximab trial in China. Additional indications of pustular and erythrodermic psoriasis are approved in Japan for some of the agents based on phase II/III studies.