Abstract
Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease with significant psychological and physical impact. Over the last few decades, several highly effective target therapies have been developed, leading to a major paradigm shift in the way psoriatic disease is managed. Despite this, a proportion of patients still do not respond or lose response over time. Bispecific antibodies target two different cytokines simultaneously, potentially offering a better disease control. Interleukin (IL)-17A and IL-17F share structural homology and have similar biologic function. IL-17A is classically considered to be the most biologically active, but recent studies have shown that IL-17F is also increased in psoriatic skin and synovial cell in psoriatic arthritis, supporting the rationale for targeting both IL-17A and IL-17F in psoriatic disease. Bimekizumab is the first-in-class monoclonal antibody designed to simultaneously target IL-17A and IL-17F. Bimekizumab is currently in clinical development for psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and ankylosing spondylitis, with promising results. In early clinical trials, bimekizumab demonstrated a rapid onset of action, good safety profile, and high tolerability by treated study participants. Long-term results and head-to-head trials comparing bimekizumab with other agents will be crucial to define the role of bimekizumab in the treatment of psoriatic disease.
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Joel Reis has no conflict of interest. Ron Vender has participated in clinical trials, and has received honoraria for acting as a consultant and/or as a speaker at events sponsored by AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Galderma, GSK, Janssen, Leo-Pharma, Eli-Lilly, MSD, Novartis, UCB, and Pfizer. Tiago Torres has participated in clinical trials, and has received honoraria for acting as a consultant and/or as a speaker at events sponsored by AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Janssen, Leo-Pharma, Eli-Lilly, MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, and Sandoz.
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Reis, J., Vender, R. & Torres, T. Bimekizumab: The First Dual Inhibitor of Interleukin (IL)-17A and IL-17F for the Treatment of Psoriatic Disease and Ankylosing Spondylitis. BioDrugs 33, 391–399 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40259-019-00361-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40259-019-00361-6