An estimated 19,000 Australian adults are living with the common, inflammatory skin disease and now have access to a new treatment listed on the PBS.
The condition is severe chronic plaque psoriasis.
SOTYKTUTM (deucravacitinib) is a new medicine in the form of a once-a-day pill that helps to reduce the signs and symptoms of the disease. It binds to a protein involved in the inflammation process and prevents its activation.
Severe chronic plaque psoriasis accounts for about 90 per cent of all psoriasis cases. Involving an over-growth of skin cells triggered by environmental, lifestyle or medical stressors, psoriasis is usually diagnosed in young adults, but can present at any age.
The disease features red, violet or grey raised plaques, depending on the patient’s skin tone. Often covered in silvery scales, these plaques can crack, bleed and become itchy and painful.
Sometimes requiring lifelong management, the treatment of severe chronic plaque psoriasis can be expensive, with those afflicted spending thousands of dollars on treatments each year.
Doctors say the reimbursed treatment may help to reduce the physical, mental and financial toll of the disease, especially those for whom topical treatments (skin creams, foams, gels, lotions, and ointments) or other available oral (by mouth) medicines have proven ineffective.
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