A Practical Guide to the Management of Oral Candidiasis in Patients with Plaque Psoriasis Receiving Treatments That Target Interleukin-17

Bimekizumab safety in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis: pooled data from up to 3 years of treatment in randomized phase III trials

BACKGROUND

Patients with psoriasis require long-term management; therefore, understanding the long-term safety of new treatments, such as bimekizumab (BKZ), is crucial.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate BKZ's 3-year safety profile in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

METHODS

Three years of safety data were pooled from three phase III trials (BE VIVID, BE READY and BE SURE) and their ongoing open-label extension (BE BRIGHT). Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) are reported using exposure-adjusted incidence rates (EAIRs) per 100 patient-years (PY).

RESULTS

In total, 1495 patients received at least one BKZ dose; total BKZ exposure was 3876.4 PY. The overall EAIR of TEAEs was 175.5/100 PY and decreased with longer exposure to BKZ. The most commonly reported TEAEs were nasopharyngitis, oral candidiasis and upper respiratory tract infection (EAIRs of 15.0/100 PY, 10.1/100 PY and 6.5/100 PY, respectively); 99.3% of oral candidiasis events were mild or moderate in severity, none were serious and few led to discontinuation. EAIRs of other TEAEs of interest were low, including serious infections (1.2/100 PY), adjudicated inflammatory bowel disease (0.2/100 PY) and laboratory elevations in aspartate aminotransferase or alanine aminotransferase (> 5 × upper limit of normal: 0.6/100 PY).

CONCLUSIONS

In these analyses pooled across 3 years, no new safety signals were observed with longer exposure to BKZ. The vast majority of oral candidiasis events were mild or moderate in severity, as reported previously.

The Efficacy and Safety of Bimekizumab for Plaque Psoriasis: An Expert Consensus Panel

INTRODUCTION

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory condition affecting the skin, joints, and several other organ systems with significant disease burden. Bimekizumab is the first monoclonal antibody targeting both interleukin (IL)-17A and interleukin-17F and has demonstrated efficacy for treating moderate to severe psoriasis. Limited guidelines exist for incorporating this drug into clinical practice. The purpose of this study was for a panel of experts in psoriasis management to synthesize current literature and provide consensus statements with guidance on use of bimekizumab.

METHODS

A comprehensive literature search of PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar was completed for English-language original research articles on the use of bimekizumab for moderate to severe psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. A panel of nine dermatologists with significant expertise in treatment of psoriasis gathered to review the articles and create consensus statements on this new medication. A modified Delphi process was used to approve each statement and a strength of recommendation was assigned using Strength of Recommendation Taxonomy criteria.

RESULTS

The literature search produced 102 articles that met criteria. A thorough screening of the studies for relevance to the research question resulted in 19 articles. These were distributed to all panelists for review prior to a roundtable discussion. The panel unanimously voted to adopt 14 consensus statements and recommendations, 12 of which were given a strength of "A", one of which was given a strength of "B", and one of which was given a strength of "C".

CONCLUSION

Bimekizumab results in rapid and long-lasting clinical improvement for patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. It has demonstrated superior efficacy when compared to several other biologics. The safety profile is consistent with other biologics, except for an increased incidence of oropharyngeal candidiasis.

Comparative short-term risks of infection and serious infection in patients receiving biologic and small-molecule therapies for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis: a systemic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background

Infection events are a major concern for patients and physicians when making psoriasis treatment decisions.

Objective

To estimate the relative short-term risks of infection and serious infection for biologic and small molecule therapies in the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PsO) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

Data Sources and Methods

A systematic literature search of the PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases was conducted on 17 June 2022. We included phase II, III, or IV randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of biologic and small-molecule therapies that are licensed or likely to gain approval soon for PsO and PsA, as well as infection data reports. Two investigators independently extracted the data based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Network meta-analysis (NMA) was performed to estimate the pooled relative risks (RRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals of total infections and serious infections for treatments during placebo-controlled phases of RCTs. The surface under the cumulative ranking area (SUCRA) was calculated to rank the infection risk for each treatment.

Results

A total of 94 RCTs with a total of 19 treatment arms involving 54,369 participants were analyzed. For patients with PsO, bimekizumab, secukizumab, risankizumab, ustekinumab, apremilast, guselkumab, and adalimumab were associated with significantly higher risks of infection than placebo; SUCRA ranked infliximab, deucravacitinib, and bimekizumab with the highest risks of infection. For patients with PsA, bimekizumab, apremilast, and upadacitinib (30 mg daily) were associated with higher risks of infection; SUCRA ranked bimekizumab with the highest risk of infection. No treatments, except for upadacitinib (30 mg daily), were associated with a higher risk of serious infection than placebo in PsA.

Conclusion

This NMA provides a comprehensive assessment of the comparative short-term risks of infection, which could help physicians and patients to select individualized treatments for psoriasis.

Registration

CRD42022359873.

Risk of candidiasis associated with interleukin-17 inhibitors: Implications and management

The application of interleukin-17 (IL-17) inhibitors, including secukinumab, ixekizumab, brodalumab, and bimekizumab, are associated with elevated risk of candidiasis. These medications interfere with the IL-17 pathway, which is essential for maintaining mucosal barriers and coordinating the immune response against Candida species. The observational data and clinical trials demonstrate the increased incidence of candidiasis in individuals treated with IL-17 inhibitors. Brodalumab and bimekizumab pose a greater risk than secukinumab in eliciting candidiasis, whereas the data regarding ixekizumab are equivocal. Higher doses and prolonged treatment duration of IL-17 inhibitors increase the risk of candidiasis by compromising the immune response against Candida species. Prior to prescribing IL-17 inhibitors, healthcare professionals should comprehensively evaluate patients' medical histories and assess their risk factors. Patients should be educated on the signs and symptoms of candidiasis to facilitate early detection and intervention. Future research should focus on identifying the risk factors associated with candidiasis in patients receiving IL-17 inhibitors. Prospective studies and long-term surveillance are required to explore the impact of specific inhibitors on the incidence and severity of candidiasis and to evaluate the effectiveness of combination therapies, such as concurrent use of IL-17 inhibitors and prophylactic antifungal agents.

Safety of guselkumab treatment for up to 5 years in patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis: pooled analyses across seven clinical trials with more than 8600 patient-years of exposure

BACKGROUND

Guselkumab has demonstrated favourable safety and efficacy across individual clinical studies in adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the safety of guselkumab in patients with psoriasis using pooled data from seven phase II/III studies (X-PLORE, VOYAGE 1, VOYAGE 2, NAVIGATE, ORION, ECLIPSE, Japan registration).

METHODS

All studies, except NAVIGATE and ECLIPSE (active comparator-controlled only), included a 16-week placebo-controlled period; X-PLORE, VOYAGE 1 and VOYAGE 2 included both placebo and active controls. In most studies, guselkumab-treated patients received 100-mg subcutaneous injections at week 0, week 4, and then every 8 weeks thereafter. Safety data were summarized for the placebo-controlled period (weeks 0-16) and through the end of the reporting period (up to 5 years). Incidence rates of key safety events were integrated post hoc, adjusted for the duration of follow-up and reported per 100 patient-years (PY).

RESULTS

During the placebo-controlled period, 544 patients received placebo (165 PY) and 1220 received guselkumab (378 PY). Through the end of the reporting period, 2891 guselkumab-treated patients contributed 8662 PY of follow-up. During the placebo-controlled period, in the guselkumab and placebo groups, respectively, rates of adverse events (AEs) were 346/100 PY and 341/100 PY, and infections were 95.9/100 PY and 83.6/100 PY. Rates of serious AEs (6.3/100 PY vs. 6.7/100 PY), AEs leading to discontinuation (5.0/100 PY vs. 9.7/100 PY), serious infections (1.1/100 PY vs. 1.2/100 PY), malignancy (0.5 patients/100 PY vs. 0.0 patients/100 PY) and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; 0.3/100 PY vs. 0.0/100 PY) were low and comparable between guselkumab and placebo. Through the end of the reporting period, safety event rates were lower than or comparable to the placebo-controlled period in guselkumab-treated patients: AEs, 169/100 PY; infections, 65.9/100 PY; serious AEs, 5.3/100 PY; AEs leading to discontinuation, 1.6/100 PY; serious infections, 0.9/100 PY; malignancy, 0.7/100 PY; and MACE, 0.3/100 PY. There were no cases of Crohn disease, ulcerative colitis, opportunistic infection or active tuberculosis related to guselkumab.

CONCLUSIONS

In this comprehensive analysis of 2891 guselkumab-treated patients with psoriasis followed for up to 5 years (8662 PY), guselkumab demonstrated favourable safety, consistent with previous reports. Safety event rates in guselkumab-treated patients were similar to those observed with placebo and were consistent throughout long-term treatment.

Pathogenesis-oriented therapy of psoriasis using biologics

INTRODUCTION

Psoriasis is currently regarded an immune-mediated inflammatory disease. The central pathogenic axis comprises interleukin-23, TH17-lymphocytes differentiating under its influence, and interleukin-17A as a key effector cytokine of these T-lymphocytes. All of these can selectively be targeted using biological therapies, thus potentially increasing efficacy and reducing adverse events when compared to conventional systemic therapeutics.

AREAS COVERED

We review the current concept of psoriasis as an immune-mediated inflammatory disease, assessing the evidence for a role of elements of the innate and adaptive immune system. We then correlate the pharmacological effects of biologics in psoriasis in light of the known physiologic as well as pathophysiological role of the respective targets. This is done on the basis of an extensive literature search of publications since 2018 which describe the role of the above-mentioned elements in health and disease or the effects of blocking these as an attempt to treat psoriasis.

EXPERT OPINION

Biologics targeting the above-mentioned central pathogenic axis provide a particularly effective and safe way to treat psoriasis. Given the impact of comorbidities on therapeutic decision-making, and the efficacy of some biologics also on certain comorbidities, these drugs represent a first step toward personalized medicine in the management of psoriasis.