<div><p>An experimental biotech treatment for the chronic immune disorder psoriasis eliminated red, scaly skin patches more than the leading biologic treatment for moderate-to-severe cases, researchers reported Thursday.</p><p>The study by Johnson & Johnson's biotech unit, Centocor Inc., is the first head-to-head comparison of biologic drugs in psoriasis patients, the company said.</p><p>Several such drugs — complex treatments manufactured by living cells — have come on the market since 2003 for psoriasis and other conditions caused by faulty immune systems, but their high cost, need to be injected and risk of serious infections have somewhat limited their use.</p><p>In a late-stage study, the J&J drug, known by the chemical name ustekinumab, reduced the scope of psoriasis patches by at least three-quarters in 74 percent of patients who got a 90-milligram dose and 68 percent getting a 45-milligram dose. In a comparison group that got Enbrel, a blockbuster drug for multiple immune disorders sold by Wyeth and Amgen Inc., 57 percent had patches reduced that much.</p><p>The international study included about 900 men and women with moderate or severe psoriasis; each got one of the three drugs. The ustekinumab groups got shots just under the skin at the study's start and four weeks later, while the Enbrel group got injections twice every week.</p><p>After 12 weeks, the two ustekinumab groups were faring better, with skin patches cleared up or minimal in two-thirds or more, based on a different measurement scale, compared with half of those getting Enbrel.</p><p>J&J has applied for U.S. approval to sell its drug and expects a decision before the end of the year.</p><p>Its latest data were presented Thursday at a European conference of dermatologists in Paris.</p><p>"Now we have a drug that will be used less frequently ... with a significant increase in effectiveness," said one of the study investigators, Dr. Alan Menter, chairman of psoriasis research at Baylor Research Institute. "These results are as good as we've seen in psoriasis," but it's unclear how long benefits will last.</p><p>In psoriasis, excess levels of some immune cells cause overproduction of skin cells, which accumulate on the skin's surface in red, scaly plaques that can itch, bleed and hurt. About 7.5 million Americans and 10 million Europeans have psoriasis, nearly one-quarter with moderate or severe cases, and in many it progresses to a type of arthritis, causing joint pain and immobility.</p><p>Topical ointments and frequent light therapy fail to help many patients, yet Menter noted barely 1 percent of U.S. patients are treated with a biologic drug.</p><p>Ustekinumab is in a new class of biologics that works by reducing the number of two types of interleukin — immune cells believed to play a role in psoriasis and other inflammatory disorders.</p><p>Existing biologic drugs for psoriasis, including Enbrel, Abbott Laboratories' Humira and Remicade, sold by J&J and Schering-Plough Corp., work by blocking other immune cells called tumor necrosis factor.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=36405764&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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