Cosentyx is FDA approved to treat scalp psoriasis.- Novartis.

Novartis has announced that the FDA has approved a label update for Cosentyx (secukinumab), the first interleukin-17A (IL-17A) inhibitor approved to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. The updated label includes Cosentyx data in moderate-to-severe scalp psoriasis - one of the difficult-to-treat forms of the disease, which affects approximately half of all psoriasis patients.The label update is effective in the US immediately, and is based on the proven efficacy and consistent safety profile of Cosentyx from a dedicated Phase III scalp psoriasis trial.

The updated label for Cosentyx in scalp psoriasis addresses an important unmet need. Scalp psoriasis can be challenging to treat with topical agents or phototherapy due to the presence of hair and other factors. Approximately half of all 125 million patients with psoriasis suffer from scalp psoriasis. Cosentyx is currently the only fully human IL-17A inhibitor to demonstrate efficacy and safety in a dedicated Phase III study of scalp psoriasis. The label update is based on 12-week primary endpoint results from the SCALP study of moderate-to-severe scalp psoriasis where Cosentyx demonstrated superior efficacy compared to placebo. Cosentyx has demonstrated sustained long-term efficacy, as well as a consistently favorable safety profile, including injection site pain at rates similar to placebo. To date, more than 125,000 patients worldwide have been prescribed Cosentyx in the post-marketing setting across all indications since launch.

The SCALP study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Cosentyx in 102 patients with moderate-to-severe scalp psoriasis. Eligible patients were equally randomized to either subcutaneous Cosentyx 300 mg or placebo at Weeks 0, 1, 2 and 3, then every four weeks for 12 weeks. At Week 12, patients in the placebo group who did not achieve at least a 90% improvement from baseline in the Psoriasis Scalp Severity Index (PSSI) score were re-randomized to Cosentyx 300 mg until study completion. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients who achieved PSSI 90 response rate at Week 12. The proportion of patients achieving an IGA scalp only score of 0 or 1 (clear or almost clear) were 56.9% and 5.9% for Cosentyx and the placebo groups, respectively.