OBJECTIVES: Ixekizumab (IXE) is a high affinity anti-IL-17A antibody shown to be highly effective in reducing psoriasis plaques and improving health-related quality of life (HRQoL) over a 12 week induction period in moderate-to-severe psoriasis (PsO) patients. This study assessed the impact of IXE compared to etanercept (ETN) and placebo (PBO) on itch and HRQoL after 12 weeks.

METHODS: In this phase 3, multicenter, double-blind, active-comparator, PBO-controlled trial, patients were randomized to receive subcutaneous PBO (N=193), ETN (50 mg, twice weekly; N=382), or 80 mg IXE as 1 injection every 2 weeks (IXE Q2W; N=385) or every 4 weeks (IXE Q4W; N=386) for up to 12 weeks following an initial 160-mg starting dose. (At Week 12, all patients received open-label IXE Q4W through Week 60.) In all Latin American patients (n=102), analyses were performed on itch (assessed by a 0-10 numeric rating scale [NRS] ), Psoriasis Skin Appearance Bothersomeness (PSAB, score range 0-30), and HRQoL (assessed by the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI; score range 0−30). Treatment comparisons were made using an ANCOVA model with missing values imputed by last observation carried forward.

RESULTS: Patients treated with IXE had statistically significantly greater reductions in itch vs. ETN and PBO as early as week 1 (Q2W -3.1, Q4W -3.3, ETN -0.5, PBO -0.5); and improvements continued through week 12 (Q2W -5.8, Q4W -5.6, ETN -4.5, PBO -1.3; all p-values vs. PBO <.001). At week 12 IXE patients showed significant improvements in DLQI (Q2W -12.7, Q4W -11.7, ETN -11.0, PBO -2.2; p-values vs. PBO <0.001) and PSAB (Q2W -21.9, Q4W -21.3, ETN -15.0, PBO -4.7; p-values vs. ETN<0.01 and PBO <0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: After 12 weeks IXE treatment led to significant improvements in itch as early as 1 week, and in HRQoL and PSAB compared to ETN and PBO in Latin American PsO patients.