Certolizumab Pegol Use in the Treatment of Moderate-to-Severe Psoriasis: Real-World Data From Two Canadian Centers

BACKGROUND: Certolizumab pegol (CZP) is a TNF-ɑ inhibitor used to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PsO) in adult patients, including women of childbearing potential (WOCBP) and patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). There are currently limited real-world data on CZP for treatment of PsO. OBJECTIVES: To examine the use of CZP for treatment of PsO in clinical practice at two dermatology clinics in Canada. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart analysis of 59 patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis receiving CZP. Clinical efficacy was measured using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), Body Surface Area (BSA), and Physician Global Assessment (PGA). Drug survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier plots. RESULTS: Of the 59 patients, 36 (61%) were female, of whom 23 (63.9%) were WOCBP. Twenty-three (39.0%) patients received CZP as their first biologic treatment. The main reasons for choosing CZP were its efficacy in both PsO and PsA, and for WOCBP due to little or no cross-placental transfer. Improvement of symptoms was observed after 3 months of treatment and was maintained for the 12-month analysis period. After 12 months of treatment, the patients’ mean PASI score decreased from 13.0 (±5.8) at baseline to 2.3 (±4.3), mean BSA score from 13.1% (±6.7%) to 1.7% (±2.6%), and mean PGA score from 3.0 (±0.6) to 0.8 (±0.6). Overall CZP drug survival rate was 76.3% at 12 months, with no difference between biologic-naive and biologic-experienced patients. CONCLUSIONS: CZP was effective and well tolerated in this cohort of patients with moderate-to-severe PsO in a real-world setting.