according to a statement from manufacturer Boehringer Ingelheim. The FDA also granted Priority Review to spesolimab. Priority Review is a designation granted to medications that would offer significant improvement over the currently available treatments.
Generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP), though rare, is a potentially life-threatening condition that is distinct from plaque psoriasis. Throughout the course of the disease, which is caused by the accumulation of neutrophils in the skin, patients may experience persistent disease with intermittent flares or relapsing disease with recurrent flares. The neutrophil accumulation results in the eruption of sterile, yet painful pustules across all parts of the body.
“While the severity of GPP flares can vary, if left untreated they can be life threatening due to complications such as sepsis and multisystem organ failure,” and have a significant impact on quality of life, according to the company statement.
The FDA also has granted spesolimab an Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of GPP, and a Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the treatment of GPP flares in adults.
A marketing authorization application for spesolimab for the treatment of GPP was accepted for evaluation by the European Medicines Agency in October 2021, according to a company press release issued at that time.
A protocol for a phase 2 study of spesolimab versus placebo for treating acute flares in GPP patients was published in October in BMJ Open, after a phase 1 proof-of-concept study published in 2019 showed the potential of an IL-36 receptor antagonist to improve disease scores in adults with GPP.
More information is available on the Boehringer Ingelheim website.