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[Note: many of the media links below will expire over time.]
Click here for the latest news in psoriasis research and treatment.
June 22, 2005: Psoriasis Cure Now applauds U.S. House of Representatives for its historic support for psoriasis research. (Psoriasis Cure Now News Release) [A HUGE win for the psoriasis community (and for Psoriasis Cure Now). Please read this!]
June 22, 2005: Excerpts from House Report urging NIH to increase its commitment to psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis research. Language was written by Psoriasis Cure Now and a bipartisan group of Members of Congress.]
June 17, 2005: Checkup:Psoriasis. (WSJ.com [online only]) [The online edition of the Wall St. Journal includes a brief summary of three potential psoriasis treatments in early stages of clinical trials (all three are in our clinical trial list). The piece, however, also includes this unfortunate line: "Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease, affecting more than 4.5 million Americans, primarily adults." We have writtn to the Journal to point out that the National Instututes of Health reports there are as many as 7.5 million Americans with psoriasis, and that hundreds of thousands of children with psoriasis should not be marginalized with their "primarily adults" dismissal. Of course, with an incurable disease, mostly adults will be affected, as once you have the disease you always have it. That skews the statistics to older folks, but makes the pain faced by children no less real. If you see an article making these types of erros, please email us, so we can correct the record.]
June 16, 2005: Daddy's home to stay. (USA Today) [We received a brief mention today in the newspaper with the largest circulation in America: "Paranzino is busy building the non-profit Psoriasis Cure Now!, launched in January. The skin condition runs in his family."]
June 10, 2005: Highlights of FY06 Labor, HHS, Education Appropriations Bill. (House Appropriations Committee Press Release) [The Labor-HHS Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee, before which Psoriasis Cure Now testified in April, yesterday voted to fund the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at $28.5 billion for Fiscal Year 2006, and to fund the Centers for Disease Control at $6.1 billion. Last year, NIH spent $6.5 million on psoriasis research. With almost $35 BILLION in play for the coming year, Psoriasis Cure Now will remain focused on increasing the portion that goes to research on psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Stay tuned.]
June 1, 2005: Amgen, Wyeth Get Expanded Enbrel Label. (Associated Press) ["Biotech company Amgen Inc. and drug maker Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Wyeth Co., said Wednesday that the Food and Drug Administration expanded their marketing approval of Enbrel for the treatment of arthritis associated with the skin disease psoriasis. The companies said the expanded approval allows them to market the treatment for the improvement of physical function in patients with psoriatic arthritis in addition to the 2002 approval, which indicated the product to treat the condition's signs and symptoms."]
June 1, 2005: Allergan to Perform New Psoriasis Study. (Associated Press) ["Allergan Inc. said Wednesday that after reviewing multiple options presented by the Food and Drug Administration, the company plans to conduct another study of its psoriasis treatment in an attempt to gain approval for ... its oral tazarotene drug."]
May 17, 2005: Psoriasis group hails FDA approval of Remicade for psoriatic arthritis. (Psoriasis Cure Now News Release) [“'The FDA’s approval of Remicade for psoriatic arthritis is great news for psoriatic arthritis patients,' said Michael Paranzino, president of Psoriasis Cure Now. 'Psoriatic arthritis receives precious little government research funding, making it all the more important for the private sector to develop new treatments for this painful and often debilitating disease.'”]
May 17, 2005: FDA Approves REMICADE(R) For Ninth Indication: Psoriatic Arthritis. (Centocor news releaese) ["Centocor, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved REMICADE(R) (infliximab) to reduce the signs and symptoms of active arthritis in patients with psoriatic arthritis."]
May 17, 2005: CBS’ King of Queens season finale features psoriasis subplot -- advocacy group hopes it ends Hollywood stars’ silence about the disease. (Psoriasis Cure Now News Release) [“'Jerry Stiller is a comic genius, and no doubt he will make us laugh about this most unlikely of subplots, psoriasis,' said Michael Paranzino, president of Psoriasis Cure Now. 'But while we are all laughing, let’s also remember that for 6.5 million Americans young and old, psoriasis is not funny, but is both physically and emotionally painful.'”]
May 16, 2005: Hormonal Effect on Psoriasis in Pregnancy and Post Partum. (Archives of Dermatology) ["High levels of estrogen correlated with improvement in psoriasis."]
May 5, 2005: FY 2006 302(b) allocations. (U.S. House Appropriations Committee Document) [Good news, bad news: The House Appropriations Committee today released preliminary figures for what various Subcommittees will have to spend for Fiscal Year 2006. The bad news is that the Subcommittee that funds biomedical research through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is slated to receive a 0.1% cut for the coming year over what it spent for the current year. This means that psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis research (and hundreds of other programs) are battling over a pot of money that is not rising. The good news is that the Subcommittee that we testified before last month still will have $142.5 BILLION in budget authrority to work with, and about $29 billion of that is expected to go to the NIH. Ironically, because psoriasis funding has fared so poorly over the last decade, and now stands at just $6.5 million annually, we can be increased significantly without making a blip on the total figure. But let's be clear: we are in a ferociously tight funding situation, and the battle among interest groups for funding is most intense. If the psoriasis community is not active and engaged, we will continue to be left behind as we have for a decade or more. Get involved!]
May 4, 2005: The Web: Reforming Social Security online. (UPI/Washington Times) [It's nice to know that when White House senior advisor Karl Rove reads his press clips today, he will learn a little bit about psoriasis: "Also on the federal level, the Internet has been valuable in raising awareness of the immune disease psoriasis. 'I believe the Internet is an effective, low-cost way to show members of Congress that their constituents care about an issue,' said Michael Paranzino, a spokesman for Psoriasis Cure Now!, a non-profit group in Kensington, Md. 'In our case, the psoriasis community is trying to break into Congress for the first time in recent memory, using Web tools to have psoriasis patients write their lawmakers. We are forcing every congressional office, for the first time in years, to figure out what psoriasis is and how to respond to constituents writing in about it,' Paranzino said."]
May 4, 2005: Genzyme and Bone Care International Announce Merger Agreement. (Genzyme/Bone Care press release) [Let's hope this merger strengthens the clinical development of Bone Care's potential psoriasis offerings, which are in Phase One and Phase Two clinical trials.]
May 3, 2005: Psoriasis group calls on CDC to end confusion over number of Americans with psoriasis. (Psoriasis Cure Now News Release) [Click here to write to the CDC.]
April 30, 2005: Avanir, Novartis sign $200 million development deal. (San Diego Daily Transcript) [Novartis, maker of Elidel, may be heading toward a greater role in the dermatology/psoriasis market: "Avanir Pharmaceuticals has inked a deal with drug maker Novartis to develop oral drugs for the treatment of arthritis, psoriasis and other inflammatory diseases. Under the agreement announced Thursday, Sorrento Valley-based Avanir will get $200 million for developing small molecule drugs that target macrophage migration inhibitory factor, or MIF, which research shows has been linked to rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease."]
April 28, 2005: Job Rates Lower for People with Arthritic Diseases. (Reuters) [A new study has found that Germans with psoriatic arthritis are employed at lower rates than Germans without the disease. "Among more than 43,000 German adults with some form of inflammatory rheumatic disease, employment rates were up to one-quarter lower than that of the general population. With certain conditions, however, job rates were closer to the norm. ... In the new study, people with RA, lupus, systemic sclerosis or a condition called Wegener's granulomatosis in which blood vessel inflammation leads to joint pain and organ damage had significantly lower employment rates than the general population. On the other hand, men and women with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), which primarily affects the spine, or arthritis related to the skin disease psoriasis were more likely to be on the job. Their employment rates were 6 to 8 percent lower than the average for the German population, researchers report in the April issue of the Journal of Rheumatology. People with AS and psoriasis may have fared better employment-wise because the effects of the disorders on the joints may be less severe, according to study leader Dr. Wilfried Mau of Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. Across the various rheumatic diseases, the odds of unemployment also depended on the duration of a person's disease. For example, people who had had AS for less than 10 years had an employment rate comparable to the norm, while those who'd had the disease for a longer period had a job rate that was 9 to 12 percent lower than average."]
April 25, 2005: Isotechnika Says Psoriasis Results Are Encouraging. (Reuters) [For more on psoriasis drugs in development, click here.]
April 25, 2005: Local Docs Explore Arthritis, Psoriasis Link. (The BostonChannel.com) ["...rheumatologists and dermatologists at Brigham And Women's Hospital are joining forces to screen psoriasis patients for arthritis."]
April 21, 2005: Genizon BioSciences Announces Major Milestone in Identifying Genes Involved in Psoriasis. (Genizon BioSciences Press Release)
April 19, 2005: UPDATE ON TODAY’S CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY from Michael Paranzino, president, Psoriasis Cure Now: Thanks to everyone who provided comments concerning what I should tell Congress today. I did my best to convey your thoughts in my remarks. The good news is that the Subcommittee Chairman, Congressman Ralph Regula of Ohio, was very interested in the topic, and peppered me with questions. Questions included how does psoriasis start, what are the treatments, what do we want NIH to do, etc. It’s not every day you get to have an extended conversation about psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis with one of the most powerful members of Congress, the man who leads the Subcommittee that crafts NIH’s $29 billion budget.
I also mentioned psoriasis research going on near his Ohio Congressional District, at Case Western Reserve University, and he replied that he is meeting with CWRU’s President tomorrow and would bring it up with him. For those interested, you can read my testimony here—I was asked to bring 35 copies of it to the Hearing, so it is either lining a lot of bird cages or will be seen by a lot of influential people.
I also spoke with reporters for CQ, a Washington policy publication, and a freelancer for People Magazine. People, unfortunately, was REALLY there to see Julianne Moore, the acclaimed actress.
She testified after me regarding Tuberous Sclerosis, another terrible disease. Celebrities sure do help. I had hoped the crowd of cameras was there to snap my picture, but alas, they pushed past me to get to the real show-stopper. She did a great job, incidentally. We have a long way to go, but today, I feel we made real progress.
April 19, 2005: Psoriasis advocacy group testifies before Congress for more research funding. (Psoriasis Cure Now News Release)
April 19, 2005: Statement of Michael D. Paranzino, President, Psoriasis Cure Now, to the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. (Congressional Testimony by Psoriasis Cure Now)
April 19, 2005: Slight irritation. (Seattle Times) [Letter to the Editor from Psoriasis Cure Now: "I was disappointed to see a line about 'the ugly itch of psoriasis' in a letter from Ken McRea about judicial activism ["Amicus breach," Northwest Voices, April 15]. Psoriasis is indeed a terrible disease, and we would welcome coverage in your Health section, but the phrase you published is unflattering to the 6.5 million Americans with this incurable immune disease. It's time for The Times and your letter writers to find a new punch line. As for Mr. McRea, my guess is he's no Robert Redford — so who's he calling ugly? — Michael Paranzino, president, Psoriasis Cure Now"]
April 15, 2005: When Patients Say: Don't Ban My Drug. (BusinessWeek) [The print version of this will hit newsstands Monday: "FDA panels have recently heard from patients who want Cox-2 arthritis drugs such as Celebrex or Vioxx, which can hike the risk of heart disease, because they think the drugs are the only way to ease their pain. FDA advisers who listen to such pleas say they usually give more weight to the data. Still, notes Dr. Alastair J.J. Wood, associate dean at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville: 'Patient testimony can really be quite moving.' ... Patients keep lobbying, meanwhile, because they know it can work. ... Such lobbying often puts patients at odds with watchdog organizations meant to look after their interests. The consumer group Public Citizen labeled the Lotronex decision 'a serious public health mistake,' and it is just as opposed to the Cox-2 drugs, Iressa, and silicone implants. 'Patient pleas are of interest, but they have to be put in the perspective of other data,' says Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe, director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group. On the other side, says Michael Paranzino, head of patient-advocacy group Psoriasis Cure Now: 'I err on the side of patient empowerment.'"]
April 12, 2005: COX-2 Selective and Non-Selective Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs). (FDA Advisory) [If you take an NSAID, you should review this document for the latest information from the FDA.]
April 10, 2005: Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis treatments.
April 8, 2005: Pfizer Takes Painkiller Bextra Off Market. (Associated Press) [Frustrating news for those suffering from psoriatic arthritis and so many other diseases and ailments. We desperately need additional options for pain management: "The blockbuster painkiller Bextra was yanked off the market Thursday, and the government ordered that 19 other popular prescription competitors - from Celebrex to Mobic to high-dose naproxen - carry tough new warnings that they, too, may increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes. The warnings encompass an entire class of anti-inflammatory medicines called NSAIDs that are the backbone of U.S. pain treatment, not just newer versions of the painkillers initially suspected when the heart concerns made headlines last fall. The warnings - in black boxes, the strongest the Food and Drug Administration can order - are likely to cause confusion because they won't tell patients and doctors which of these prescription drugs is a safer choice. In addition, the FDA will make over-the-counter NSAIDs, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen, naproxen and ketoprofen bear stronger reminders to take only low doses for a few days at a time to avoid the same risks of high-dose, long-term use."]
April 7, 2005: Biogen psoriasis drug meets endpoint. (Businessweek.com) [One day after disappointing news about one psoriasis drug in development, we get good news from another: "Biopharmaceutical firm Biogen Idec Inc. and Swiss drug patent holding company Fumapharm AG said Thursday that their psoriasis treatment BG-12 met the primary endpoint in a late-stage clinical trial. Psoriasis patients taking BG-12, an oral drug derived from fumaric acid, showed a clinically significant improvement in their psoriasis symptoms after 16 weeks compared with those patients taking placebo. Patients with moderate to severe psoriasis taking BG-12 had a median reduction of 68 percent of their symptoms according to a psoriasis index compared with a 10 percent reduction in placebo patients, the companies said. ... The company said that additional studies need to be conducted for marketing applications in the United States and the rest of Europe."]
April 6, 2005: Serono Stops Trials on Cancer, Psoriasis Drugs. (Bloomberg News) [Unfortunate news for the psoriasis community--one potential option did not pan out: "Serono halted a phase III trial for the psoriasis treatment onercept because the drug didn't work well enough and investigators reported two patients with sepsis, one of whom died, Serono said." We have removed Onercept from our "Hope" document, which, fortunately, still includes many other promising options that may one day become available to our community.]
April 4, 2005: Psoriasis group launches online advocacy center to help psoriasis patients reach out to Congress. [Psoriasis Cure Now News Release about our new advocacy tools.]
March 27, 2005: About psoriasis.
March 24, 2005: American Academy of Dermatology Issues Statement Urging FDA Advisory Committees to Maintain Dermatologic Corticosteroids as Prescription Medications. (American Academy of Dermatology News Release) [A different perspective than ours, posted in the next two items below.]
March 24, 2005: Psoriasis advocacy group, speaking at FDA hearing, urges FDA to approve topical steroids for over-the-counter use. [Psoriasis Cure Now News Release. See also our written testimony, directly below. In addition to making our case for expanding OTC options for psoriasis patients, the Hearing was also a great opportunity for us to educate a room-full of influential people about psoriasis and the abysmal research funding situation psoriasis faces. Most interesting fact we heard at the Hearing: the vast majority of people using over-the-counter hydrocortisone 1% are also seeing a physician for what ails them, suggesting that (contrary to the ADA's concerns, above) most patients would not be using these steroids without any medical supervision.]
March 24, 2005: Statement by Michael Paranzino, president, Psoriasis Cure Now, to the Joint Meeting of the FDA’s Dermatologic and Ophthalmic Drugs Advisory Committee and the Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee, regarding the switch of dermatologic corticosteroids from prescription to over-the-counter use. [Psoriasis Cure Now Statement to FDA.]
March 23, 2005: Safety has role in psoriasis drug choice. (The Medical Post - Canada) [Provides a brief overview of biologics, most notable in that it mentions a downside of the Canadian health care system--one that our media does not talk about much: "Enbrel and Remicade have not been approved for psoriasis in Canada and Raptiva is not approved here at all. Amevive is approved for psoriasis."]
March 16, 2005: BioCryst Pharmaceuticals Successfully Completes Phase I Trial With Oral BCX-4208 for Psoriasis. (BioCryst Pharmaceuticals News Release) [As referenced in our continually updated drug pipeline document that we call "Hope."]
March 14, 2005: FDA Public Health Advisory: Elidel (pimecrolimus) Cream and Protopic (tacrolimus) Ointment. (FDA) [This is a must-read for those using Elidel and/or Protopic. "The FDA is issuing a public health advisory to inform healthcare providers and patients about a potential cancer risk from use of Elidel (pimecrolimus) and Protopic (tacrolimus)...."]
March 14, 2005: Drug shortage alters disease treatments. (Grand Rapids Press) [Injectable methotrexate shortage may continue into July. Pill form methotrexate still plentiful.]
March 14, 2005: Phase II Study Of Psoraxine For Psoriasis Does Not Meet Primary Study Endpoint . (Astralis News Release) [Disappointing news about Psoraxine, referenced on our drug development tracking page. "Astralis Ltd. today announced that the Phase II study of its novel immuno-stimulatory product for the treatment of Psoriasis did not meet the primary study endpoint upon completion of the treatment phase of the study. In the study, Psoraxine was found to be safe and well tolerated. The Phase II randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involved 120 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis who received intramuscular injections of Psoraxine. ... Initial analysis of the preliminary data showed no statistically significant clinical improvement compared to placebo following six injections over twelve weeks of treatment."]
March 12, 2005: A picture is worth a thousand words. (Netherlands Psoriasis Message Board) [Our '60 Second Google Challenge' has crossed the Atlantic. Psoriasis patients in the UK and the Netherlands have asked if such a tactic could be used in their own countries. From the Netherlands message board (translation courtesy JK): "Because many people, and certainly politicians, don't have any time to immerse (go deeper) into a disease, the American organization 'Psoriasis Cure Now!' asked 1000 congressional staffers to take 60 seconds and look at e-pictures on Google...How could we do that in the Netherlands?" Note to our friends abroad: while we would love to expand our reach beyond the United States, our limited resources will keep us confined to the States for the foreseeable future. But stay tuned, and thanks for your emails!]
March 9, 2005: Mouse model shows promise for psoriasis patients. (Sunnybrook & Women's College Health Sciences Centre News Release) ["Scientists at Sunnybrook & Women’s Research Institute have created the first mouse model that reflects many of the major characteristics of the human disease psoriasis and responds to Cyclosporine A, a classic human psoriasis treatment. This new tool will allow researchers to test new or existing combination treatments for psoriasis prior to human clinical trials. The study, printed in the March 2005 issue of the American Journal of Pathology, shows that scientists at Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre are able to create a mouse model with virtually all of the hallmarks of the human disease psoriasis by over-expressing the receptor Tie2 in the skin of genetically engineered mice." The lack of good animal models has long been a problem for psoriasis researchers. Let's hope this development pans out.]
March 8, 2005: Picture of Health: Shock-Style Disease Lobbying. (Washington Post) ["Google the word 'psoriasis,' click on 'Images,' and you'll pull up a screen of grim photos like those above. That's what Michael Paranzino, president of the advocacy group Psoriasis Cure Now, wants congressional staffers to do as part of a campaign to increase federal research funding for -- and awareness of -- the chronic skin condition. Last week, in a 'shock lobbying' move, Paranzino issued a '60 Second Google Challenge' to about 1,000 Hill staffers.... 'Admittedly, it's a little gimmicky,' Paranzino said.... 'But it's a twist that might catch a staffer's eye.'"]
March 2, 2005: FlakeHQ Interviews: Michael Paranzino. (FlakeHQ) [Interview with the president of Psoriasis Cure Now.]
March 1, 2005: Psoriasis group issues “60 Second Google Challenge” to Congress. [Psoriasis Cure Now News Release.]
February 24, 2005: Hope: Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Drugs in Clinical Trials. [Psoriasis Cure Now Issue Brief. Ever wonder what new drugs are being developed for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis right now? Check out our list to find out. This list is cause for hope!]
February 19, 2005: Study Shows Remicade Eases Psoriasis. (LA Times/Bloomberg News) ["Johnson & Johnson said it completed research that shows its drug Remicade improved symptoms of the skin disease psoriasis in about 80% of patients who took it. ... The company said it planned to ask the Food and Drug Administration to approve Remicade for use on psoriasis."]
February 19, 2005: Genentech psoriasis drug effective long term -- study. (Reuters) ["Genentech Inc. on Friday said a study of its drug Raptiva for the skin condition psoriasis demonstrated sustained improvement of symptoms throughout three years of continuous use {by the} 151 patients who remained in the study. ... It is the longest clinical trial of psoriasis patients receiving continuous treatment with a biologic agent, Genentech said."]
February 19, 2005: Abbott arthritis drug shows promise for psoriasis. (Crain's Chicago Business) ["The pharmaceutical maker said Humira, approved by regulators in late 2002, softened the extent and severity of psoriasis in two-thirds of patients after taking it for 60 weeks. A third of the patients saw their symptoms recede by 90 percent, the company reported. ... A total of 137 patients participated in the Phase 2 trial. ... Abbott is also testing the drug for several other auto-immune illnesses including Crohn’s disease. ... Humira is undergoing Phase 3 trials with psoriasis patients now, and Morrison said Abbott will seek Food and Drug Administration approval for the new use in a year or two."]
February 19, 2005: Biogen: Amevive Effective For Psoriais Treatment. (Dow Jones/iWon) ["Biogen Idec Inc. said results from two multiple course efficacy and safety analyses showed Amevive is effective in treating psoriasis, and may provide additional benefit with multiple courses of treatment. The company also said preliminary results of an ongoing Phase II study indicate that Amevive provides clinical improvement for patients with active psoriatic arthritis. ... About half of the patients who failed to achieve 25% or 50% of Psoriasis Area and Severity improvement in the first course of treatment achieved improvement of 50% with a second course of Amevive. Biogen's safety analysis of Amevive examined data from 1,869 patients who received up to nine courses of Amevive over a five-year period. ... In the study using Amevive in 185 patients with psoriatic arthritis, 54% of patients who received the treatment for 12 weeks showed at least a 20% improvement in the signs and symptoms of psoriatic arthritis at 24 weeks."]
February 19, 2005: Amgen's Enbrel Ad Goes Too Far, FDA Says. (ABC News/Reuters) ["An Amgen television ad for its psoriasis drug Enbrel is misleading and plays down the drug's very serious risks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday. The FDA also invited Amgen to prove claims made by the 'Freedom' advertisement that the drug can completely clear up the red, raised lesions caused by psoriasis. And the agency told the company to stop calling the drug a 'breakthrough' because there are several rivals on the market that do the same thing for psoriasis."]
February 19, 2005: FDA Panel Urges Warnings on 2 Eczema Drugs. (Washington Post) ["A prescription cream and an ointment that millions of Americans use to control eczema should carry strong warnings to alert consumers that the drugs may increase the risk of some forms of cancer, especially among children, a federal panel concluded yesterday. Although the risks posed by Elidel and Protopic remain far from clear, the Food and Drug Administration advisory panel said the agency should take steps to aggressively caution consumers and monitor the drugs' safety, including adding a prominent 'black box' to the labels. ... Although the new medications were approved only for short-term or intermittent use by adults and children 2 or older, the treatments have become increasingly popular, and the number of new prescriptions has risen especially quickly in the past year."]
February 18, 2005: Vioxx could return to market if benefits outweigh risks. (Knight-Ridder Newspapers/Philadelphia Inquirer) ["Michael Paranzino, head of Psoriasis Cure Now, a group pushing for more psoriasis research, said many patients with psoriasis-related arthritis took Cox-2 inhibitors and believed in their therapeutic value. Many patients 'are in a difficult spot, alarmed by the recent reports of apparent risks of these drugs, yet reliant on these medications to maintain their quality of life,' Paranzino said. Some panel members appeared sympathetic to patient advocates, who urged that the panel recommend that the drugs remain on the market. 'We have to factor in the suffering of patients who don't tolerate the traditional' painkillers, said Dr. Steven Nissen, medical director of the Cleveland Clinic Cardiovascular Coordinating Center." The article can also be found here.]
February 17, 2005: Psoriasis advocacy group, speaking at FDA hearing, urges FDA not to slow drug approvals as response to COX-2 NSAIDs controversy. [Psoriasis Cure Now News Release. We seized a wonderful opportunity today to educate key audiences about psoriatic arthritis (and psoriasis). With reporters present from nearly every major media outlet, along with leading health officials and patient advocates, including the President and CEO of the Arthritis Foundation, we spoke on behalf of psoriatic arthritis patients who use NSAIDs and COX-2s and psoriasis patients who need additional treatment options to be FDA-approved in the future.]
February 3/17, 2005: Statement by Michael Paranzino, president, Psoriasis Cure Now, to the Joint Meeting of the FDA’s Arthritis Advisory Committee and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee, regarding COX-2 NSAIDs. [Psoriasis Cure Now Statement to FDA. This statement is also available in PDF format directly from the FDA website, and was provided to all the members of both FDA Advisory Committees in advance of the hearing.]
February 16, 2005: FDA issues Protopic Alert. (Food & Drug Administration) ["FDA is investigating postmarketing reports of lymphoma and skin cancer in children and adults treated with Protopic, but a causal relationship has not been established. We are continuing to analyze these reports to determine whether the occurrence of these adverse events affects the risk/benefit assessment of Protopic therapy. Protopic is not approved for use in pediatric patients less than 2 years of age. This information reflects FDA’s preliminary analysis of data concerning this drug. FDA is considering, but has not reached a final conclusion about, this information."]
February 16, 2005: FDA issues Elidel Alert. (Food & Drug Administration) ["FDA is investigating postmarketing reports of lymphoma and skin cancer in children and adults treated with Elidel, but the causal relationship has not been clearly established. We are continuing to analyze these reports to determine whether the occurrence of these adverse events affects the risk/benefit assessment of Elidel therapy. Elidel is not approved for use in pediatric patients less than 2 years of age. This information reflects FDA’s preliminary analysis of data concerning this drug. FDA is considering, but has not reached a final conclusion about, this information."]
February 16, 2005: Medicis given FDA green light for new psoriasis treatment. (The Business Journal - Phoenix) ["Medicis Pharmaceuticals Inc. Tuesday announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its new drug application for VANOS, used for the treatment of plaque-type psoriasis. According to the Scottsdale-based company's announcement, VANOS is a patented corticosteroid formula that when put in the form of a cream helps to relieve plaque-type psoriasis, a skin disorder."]
February 14, 2005: Arthritis Drug Seen to Cut Heart Risk. (Reuters) [A bit of good news for methotrexate users. "Methotrexate, used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, may also reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and circulatory diseases affecting the heart and brain, investigators have found. As Dr. Robert S. Kirsner told Reuters Health, 'the finding that treatment of psoriasis -- and rheumatoid arthritis -- reduced the risk of development of vascular disease...suggests that patients with these diseases may derive benefit from treatment beyond control of their skin and joint disease.' ... Those with psoriasis who were prescribed methotrexate had a significantly reduced risk of vascular disease compared with those who were not. The risk was lowest -- at 50 percent -- in those given a low dose of methotrexate. Similar but less pronounced risk reductions were seen in {rheumatoid} arthritis patients."]
February 10, 2005: Biotech Drugs' Generic Future Debated. (Washington Post) ["To more than half a million patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn's disease, Remicade has brought life-changing treatment and relief. But the drug, a genetically engineered protein produced not by chemistry but by living cells in a manufacturing process that requires 310 discrete steps, also brings a heavy financial burden. The manufacturer estimates that each patient will pay $14,000 to $16,000 a year for Remicade, and that people generally will take it indefinitely. ... With complicated and costly 'biologics' such as Remicade increasingly seen as the wave of the pharmaceutical future, health care experts warn that they will drive the nation's fast-growing bill for drugs far higher. And that prospect has set off a fierce battle in Washington over the multibillion-dollar question of whether to open the door to lower-cost generic or 'follow-on' versions of the pricey biologics. ... Now, many believe the science of biopharmaceuticals -- which has produced more than 150 FDA-approved drugs and has another 350 in human clinical trials -- has advanced enough to make possible a parallel shortcut that would get lower-cost biologics onto the market. But others say that because newer biologics are much more difficult to manufacture and pose more safety risks, that prospect should worry the public." Psoriasis Cure Now! has NOT yet taken a position on this issue, but we are following it closely. Generic biologics could save psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis patients significant amounts of money, and make some insurers more willing to reimburse patients who take them; but if done wrong, the risks to patients could be severe. A very important issue. Stay tuned!]
February 8, 2005: Sunlight May Have Unexpected Anti-Cancer Effects. (Reuters)
February 8, 2005: Study Finds Psoriasis More Common Among African Americans. (KOLR CBS 10, Springfield, MO) ["According to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, psoriasis is twice as common among African Americans than first thought. Their study shows 1.3 percent of black adults have been diagnosed with the skin disease compared to 2.5 percent of white adults. The previous estimate among blacks was .7 percent. The findings are adding fuel to a Maryland-based advocacy group`s call for greater research and education on the disease. In its own report, Psoriasis Cure Now says up to 750 thousand African Americans suffer from the itchy, scaly skin of psoriasis, but you would never know it from surfing the web. The group says of the nearly 3.5 million psoriasis-related web pages it has located, less than one percent of them mention blacks and the disease."]
February 7, 2005: New study finding increased autism in kids whose mothers have psoriasis underscores dramatic need for more psoriasis research. [Psoriasis Cure Now! News Release.]
February 7, 2005: Text of Letter Sent to Every Member of Congress about New Psoriasis-Autism Research. [Psoriasis Cure Now! Letter to Congress.]
February 7, 2005: Study Links Autism and Mother's Illnesses. (Reuters) ["The researchers said there was no statistical link between autism in children and 44 autoimmune diseases in mothers, including rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and multiple sclerosis. The exception was psoriasis, which doubled the risk of autism."]
February 7, 2005: New study finds psoriasis twice as common among African-Americans as previously believed, but internet mum on Blacks with psoriasis. [Psoriasis Cure Now! News Release.]
February 7, 2005: New research demonstrates psoriasis is twice as common among African-Americans as previously believed, but internet coverage of Blacks with psoriasis lacking. [Psoriasis Cure Now! Issue Brief.]
February 7, 2005: Text of Letter Sent to 48 Federal Leaders about Psoriasis among African-Americans. [Psoriasis Cure Now! Letter to Federal Leaders.]
February 4, 2005: Are you an African-American with psoriasis? Help us educate Americans about psoriasis among African-Americans. Please contact us. Thanks!
February 1, 2005: The Making of an Activist. (Prevention.com) [Profile of Psoriasis Cure Now!]
January 28, 2005: Group calls for more psoriasis research. (United Press International) [UPI picks up on our launch {third item}: "Advocates have launched a U.S. campaign to increase
psoriasis research, noting its decrease while studies of other
diseases have soared. The newly established group, 'Psoriasis Cure
Now!,' says there more research and access to the full range of
treatments is needed. 'Congress will be disturbed to learn that for
a full decade, 6.5 million of their constituents with psoriasis and
psoriatic arthritis have been shortchanged in federally funded
research,' says group founder and psoriasis patient Michael
Paranzino. National Institutes of Health data show psoriasis
research at its skin institute, the National Institute of Arthritis
and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, declined from $4.7 million in
1995 to $4.1 million in 2004, a cut of 13 percent. In the same
period, NIH funding of other research soared 148 percent, from $11.3
billion to $28 billion, Paranzino says. Psoriasis is an incurable
disease of the immune system that can strike at any age, causing
painful skin lesions and, often, arthritic symptoms."]
January 26, 2005: “Psoriasis Cure Now!” begins web petition to Congress. [Psoriasis Cure Now! News Release.]
January 22, 2005: New Medicare Rules on Drugs Balance Access Against Costs. (New York Times) [New Medicare rules are set for Seniors' prescription drug coverage, which will begin 1/1/06. The rules include a provision that should help Seniors get access to cutting-edge drugs for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, even if they are not covered by some insurers' plans: "But if a doctor certifies that a particular drug is medically necessary for a patient, the drug plan must cover it, regardless of whether it is on the list of preferred medicines. Under the rules, the insurer 'must grant an exception whenever it determines that the drug is medically necessary,' and the insurer is supposed to accept the judgment of the prescribing physician on the question of medical necessity."]
January 20, 2005: Improving the effectiveness of Protopic. (Ivanhoe.com) ["Combining a 6 percent salicylic acid gel with tacrolimus {Protopic} ointment is an effective treatment for plaque psoriasis, an inflammatory skin condition characterized by itchy, red and thickened skin, according to a new study."]
January 19, 2005: Extended Raptiva Therapy Safe, Effective for Psoriasis. (Reuters) ["Treatment with the relatively new drug Raptiva for 12 weeks has been shown to be a safe and effective treatment for moderate-to-severe chronic psoriasis. Now, new research indicates that the benefits are even more pronounced, without an increase in side effects, when therapy is extended to 24 weeks."]
January 4, 2005: Medicare Replacement Drug Demonstration. (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) [A Medicare test program currently accepting new enrollees now pays for Enbrel for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, and Raptiva for psoriasis (Amevive for psoriasis is already covered by Medicare). If you are a Medicare beneficiary and are taking or may be a candidate for Enbrel or Raptiva, click on the link and read about the program--you might be able to save a lot of money on your medication.]
January 2, 2005: Psoriasis strongly linked to comorbid conditions: monitor arterial HT, diabetes, alcoholism. (Skin & Allergy News) ["Patients with psoriasis were nearly four times more likely than hospitalized patients and nearly eight times more likely than nonhospitalized adults to have type 1 diabetes (odds ratio 7.89) and more than twice as likely as either group to have type 2 diabetes (OR 2.07). ... A detailed look at alcoholism revealed that heavy drinking in particular was associated with psoriasis, with an odds ratio of 8.5, compared with nonhospitalized adults. 'There is still controversy about the role of alcohol in psoriasis,' said [Ulrich Mrowietz, M.D., professor of dermatology at the University of Kiel (Germany)]. 'We do not know if alcohol is a trigger or if a patient just uses alcohol because of their disease as a sign of psychological distress.'"]
January 1, 2005: Federal investment in psoriasis research fell during decade of massive increases in other biomedical research. [Psoriasis Cure Now! Issue Brief. Very upsetting--do not read on an empty stomach.]
December 30, 2004: Methotrexate in Early Pregnancy May Not Cause Defects. (Reuters) ["There has been concern that women taking low-dose methotrexate and don't realize they've become pregnant could have babies with birth defects. Now comes word from French researchers that the risk does not seem to be very great."]
December 17, 2004: Psoriasis May Yield to Modified Anti-Anxiety Drugs. (Reuters) [Promising results in lab dishes and animal studies for a new compound called called Bz-423.]
December 17, 2004: Sometimes accidentally spelled psoriais, soriasis, psoraisis, and lots of other things; pronounced sore-eye-a-sis
December 14, 2004: Researchers say they found cause of skin disease. (Reuters/Boston Globe) [Good news, although the over-hyping of every incremental advance gets a bit tiresome.]
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