US FDA approves expanded use of Amgen’s psoriasis drug

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the expanded use of Amgen Inc’s AMGN.O drug Otezla to treat adults with mild-to-moderate plaque psoriasis, the drugmaker said recently.

The approval makes Otezla the first and only oral treatment option for that patient category. It is already approved for three indications, including to treat patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Amgen in 2019 bought Otezla for $13.4 billion in cash from Celgene Corp, which was earlier acquired by Bristol Myers Squibb. The drug brought in sales of $2.2 billion last year.

Plaque Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease with patches of rough, red skin and silvery-white scales resulting from an uncontrolled immune response.

It is the most common form of skin disease, affecting about 6.7 million adults in the United States, according to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease.

Otezla is also being tested for several other conditions including pediatric plaque psoriasis and genital psoriasis.