Long-term clinical efficacy and safety of ixekizumab for psoriatic patients: a single-center experience

- OBJECTIVE: While clinical trials provide invaluable evidence, real-world data can offer further insight on the efficacy and safety of biologic drugs. This report aims to analyze the long-term efficacy and safety of ixekizumab in real-world clinical practice in our facility. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with a diagnosis of psoriasis and who started treat-ment with ixekizumab were included in this ret-rospective study and followed for 156 weeks. The severity of cutaneous manifestations was evaluated using the PASI score at several time points and clinical efficacy was evaluated using PASI 75,-90 and-100 responses. RESULTS: Not only PASI 75, but also PASI 90 and 100 responses showed a favorable outcome after treatment with ixekizumab. Responses at week 12 were sustained through the following three years in the majority of patients. No statistically significant difference was found between bio-naive and bio-switch patients and weight and disease duration had no impact on the efficacy of the drug. Ixekizum-ab had a favorable safety profile, as we observed no major adverse events. Two cases of eczema were observed and led to drug discontinuation. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the effi-cacy and safety of ixekizumab in real-world clin-ical practice.