The FDA approved Erelzi, (etanercept-szzs, Novartis) for several indications, including chronic moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adult patients who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy. The injectable biosimilar for Enbrel (etanercept, Amgen) is also approved for active psoriatic arthritis, including use in combination with methotrexate (MTX) in psoriatic arthritis patients who do not respond adequately to MTX alone.

There are almost 10 different biologics approved in the U.S. for psoriatic disease. The first biosimilar approved for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis was Inflectra (infliximab-dyyb, Pfizer), a biosimilar for Remicade (infliximab, Janssen). Erelzi was the second biosimilar approved for psoriatic disease, according to an article published August 30 on Psoriasis.org.

Read the full article at dermatologytimes.modernmedicine.com.