Dive Brief:
- Otezla (apremilast) is an oral phosphodieasterase-4 (PDE-4) inhibitor, which is now indicated for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plague psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
- Otezla’s new indication allows treatment of patients who have previously been treated with biologics.
- Despite the competitive market for this therapeutic area, which includes drugs such as AbbVie’s Humira (adalimumab), many experts think Otezla will be a blockbuster product.
Dive Insight:
The approval of Otezla for plague psoriasis is based on positive phase III study results. One reason that analysts are enthusiastic about the competitive potential of Otzela against existing products like Humira and Pfizer/Amgen’s Enbrel (entanercept) is that its product labeling does not include requiring routine laboratory monitoring.
Otezla is also being studied for use ankylosing spondylitis patients.