Clinical effectiveness and safety experience with efalizumab in the treatment of patients with moderate‐to‐severe plaque psoriasis in Taiwan: results of an open‐label, single‐arm pilot study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: No clinical trial of efalizumab has been conducted in Asia. OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy and safety of efalizumab in Taiwanese patients with psoriasis. METHODS: This is an open-label, single-arm pilot study conducted at two centres. Patients were given 1 mg/kg efalizumab subcutaneously once a week for 12 weeks and were then followed up for a further 12 weeks. RESULTS: A total of 49 patients participated in the study. The median improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) during the treatment period was 19.6%, and a >or= 50% improvement in PASI was seen in 20.4%. Rebound was seen in 17.8% of patients, and anti-efalizumab antibodies were detected in 41% of patients. The most frequent adverse events were headache (34.7%), arthralgia/arthritis (28.6%), psoriasis events (new form/exacerbation; 26.5%) and pruritus (22.4%). CONCLUSIONS: This small pilot study indicated that efalizumab was effective in improving psoriasis symptoms in Taiwanese patients, with no new safety issues identified.