May 2025

Cardiovascular disease risk in patients with psoriasis receiving biologics targeting TNF-α, IL-12/23, IL-17, and IL-23: A population-based retrospective cohort study

PLoS Med 22(4): e1004591 DOI: org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1004591

Lin et al. compared the risk of CVD in patients with psoriasis who were prescribed biologics or oral therapies and assessed the association between different classes of biologics and CVD risk. Patients with psoriasis-prescribed biologics exhibited a reduced risk of incident CVDs compared with those receiving oral antipsoriatic drugs.

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Deucravacitinib in patients with plaque psoriasis who screened positive for psoriatic arthritis: improvements in joint pain and the impact of musculoskeletal symptoms

Dermatol Ther (Heidelb) 2025 DOI: 10.1007/s13555-025-01428-9

Merola et al. undertook a post hoc analysis of prospective cohorts that compared the effects of deucravacitinib vs placebo and vs apremilast on joint pain, and the impact of musculoskeletal symptoms, at Weeks 16 and 24 in the pooled POETYK PSO-1 and PSO-2 populations who self-reported joint symptoms on the PASE questionnaire. Patients who screened positively for PsA reported greater improvements in joint pain and peripheral joint disease with deucravacitinib vs placebo at Week 16 and vs apremilast at Week 24. Findings from this pooled analysis suggest that deucravacitinib may be used to treat both dermatologic and joint symptoms effectively in patients with psoriasis and probable arthritis.

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Prevalence and predictors of achieving sustained remission in psoriatic arthritis. A Swedish nationwide registry study

J Rheumatol 2025 doi: 10.3899/jrheum.2024-1250 Epub ahead of print

Palsson et al. aimed to estimate the prevalence and predictors of ever achieving remission and sustained remission (SR) in PsA patients initiating b/tsDMARDs therapy in Sweden, using three different remission criteria (DAPSA28, DAS28CRP and EGA). Palsson et al. found that despite increased availability and a wider selection of b/tsDMARDs with different modes of action, a considerable proportion of PsA patients receiving such treatments never achieve remission and approximately half never achieve SR. Fewer swollen joints at baseline predicted a greater likelihood of SR according to all assessed remission definitions, while male sex predicted the likelihood of SR according to DAPSA28 and EGA.

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Obefazimod in patients with moderate-to-severely active ulcerative colitis: efficacy and safety analysis from the 96-week open-label maintenance phase 2b study

Journal of Crohn's and Colitis 2025;19:jjaf074 doi: 10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjaf074

Vermeire et al. provides data that supports the long-term efficacy and safety of obefazimod 50mg QD, with a substantial proportion of patients achieving clinical remission at Weeks 48 and 96. Vermeire et al. evaluated the 2-year outcome data of an OLM study, which assessed the long-term safety and efficacy of obefazimod 50mg QD.

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The effect of ixekizumab treatment on MRI sacroiliac joint structural lesions in patients with radiographic axial spondyloarthritis: post-hoc analysis of a 52-week, randomised, placebo-controlled trial with an active reference arm

Lancet Rheumatol 2025;7: e314–22 DOI: 10.1016/S2665-9913(24)00312-6

Maksymowych et al. evaluated the effect of ixekizumab and adalimumab versus placebo over 52 weeks on structural lesions in sacroiliac joints assessed by MRI in patients naive to biological DMARDs with radiographic axSpA from the COAST-V study. The authors reported a decrease in erosion and increase in backfill at Week 16 with further reductions in erosion and increases in backfill occurring at Week 52 in patients receiving ixekizumab.

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Biologic switching in psoriatic arthritis: Insights from real-world data and key risk factors

Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2025;73:152737 doi: 10.1016/j.semarthrit.2025.152737

Haddad et al. used real-world data from Israel’s largest health maintenance organisation to investigate predictors and patterns of biologic therapy switching in PsA, reporting that nearly half of biologic users switched therapy at least once. Cross-class switching, particularly from anti-TNF to IL-17 therapies, was frequent and consistent across two decades of treatment data.

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April 2025

Efficacy and safety of tildrakizumab for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis of the scalp: Week 52 results from a phase 3b, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

J Am Acad Dermatol. 2025;92(4):816-824 doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2024.12.018

The efficacy and safety of tildrakizumab for the treatment of scalp psoriasis are maintained for up to 52 weeks of treatment in a clinical trial setting.

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Long-term effectiveness and safety of deucravacitinib for psoriasis: a 52-week real-world study of genital, scalp and nail lesions

Clin Exp Dermatol. 2025 Apr 24;50(5):952-959 doi: 10.1093/ced/llae530. PMID: 39657275.

Real-world effectiveness and safety data suggest that deucravacitinib is a valuable long-term treatment option for PsO.

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Efficacy and safety of zimlovisertib, ritlecitinib and tofacitinib, alone and in combination, in patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis and an inadequate response to methotrexate

Arthritis Rheumatol. 2025 doi: 10.1002/art.43184 Epub ahead of print

Phase 2 study data show that zimlovisertib + tofacitinib was more effective than tofacitinib alone, in patients with moderate-to-severe RA and an inadequate response to MTX.

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The concept of difficult-to-treat disease in rheumatology: where next?

Lancet Rheumatol. 2025;7:e274–89 doi: 10.1016/S2665-9913(24)00340-0

Nagy et al. propose a unifying and holistic framework for understanding and addressing the concept of difficult-to-treat (D2T) disease across rheumatology, integrating cross-disciplinary evidence and recommending its incorporation into future disease management strategies. The D2T state requires a comprehensive, holistic, multidisciplinary approach that considers the specific characteristics of each disease and the personalised needs of the patient.

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