PsA (Psoriatic arthritis) causes painful joint inflammation. In patients with PsA, the study assessing patient-reported improvements in signs and symptoms with IXE (ixekizumab) treatment illustrated that IXE-treated patients achieved substantially greater improvements and faster onset of improvements in patient-reported outcomes in comparison with placebo. The responses were generally consistent regardless of prior TNFi (tumor necrosis factor inhibitor) experience and were sustained over 2 years.

The study was conducted to investigate the onset and sustainability of patient-reported improvements in symptoms of PsA subjects after treatment with IXE up to Week 108.

Patients with active PsA were randomized to either naive to biological DMARDs (Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs) (SPIRIT-P1) or having inadequate response or intolerance to 1 or 2 prior TNF-i (TNFi-experienced; SPIRIT-P2). A change from baseline in joint pain VAS (visual analogue scale; 0-100 scale), patient global assessment VAS (0-100 scale), fatigue NRS (numerical rating scale, 0 to 10), and HAQ-DI (Health Assessment Questionnaire-Disability Index, 0-3) was examined up to Week 108.

In patients treated with IXE, rapid and statistically significant improvement was witnessed in joint pain VAS, HAQ-DI, and patient global assessment as early as Week 1 when compared to the placebo group. This benefit was found to be sustained or increased through Week 108. In IXE-treated patients, the fatigue scores improved in comparison to placebo. At Week 24, the results were statistically significant only in SPIRIT-P2. Improvements in fatigue with IXE were sustained over 2 years. The improvements witnessed in these patient-reported outcomes were consistent in biologic-naive or TNFi-experienced individuals.

In biologic-naive and TNF-inadequate responder patients with PsA, treatment with IXE causes rapid and sustained improvements in patient-reported signs and symptoms up to Week 108.