New Treatment Options

Treating psoriasis is a priority. It is not something that needs to go untreated. If you do not treat psoriasis it can lead to so many other things going wrong. There are comorbidities that come along with having the disease. 2019 has been a great year for new medications that have been approved to treat psoriasis. I just saw a new advertisement on television about a new treatment. I had never heard of it until then. It got me wondering how many other new drugs were out there that I had not heard of yet. Doing research showed me that there were several. I thought I would list a few of the new ones here in this article just in case you were not aware of them. It is only through awareness that we can take action in dealing with our psoriasis.

New topical treatments

Lexette (halobetasol propionate) was approved in 2019. Lexette is a topical foam that is manufactured by Mayne Pharma. It is prescribed as an anti-inflammatory to treat psoriasis. Duobrii manufactured by Bausch Health Companies Inc. was approved in April, 2019. It is a new lotion that actually contains two different types of medicines including a corticosteroid and a topical retinoid. Like most topicals, the price of it can almost put you in sticker shock unless you have insurance.

Biosimilars

Have you heard about biosimilars? Biosimilars are modeled after biologics that have already been approved by the FDA. They must meet the same treatment statistics that their biologic similar product obtained. Biosimilars also have to be given in the same exact form as the biologic meaning whether it be an injection or a pill. There are two biosimilars to Humira called Amjevita (adalimumab-atto) and Cyltezo (adalimumab-adbm). Erelzi (etanercept-szzs) is the biosimilar to Enbrel. Last but not least are two biosimilars to Remicade called Inflectra (infliximab-dyyb) and Renflexis (infliximab-abda).

New biologic treatments

That new television commercial about a biologic for the treatment of psoriasis that I spoke about at the beginning of this article is Skyrizi. Skyrizi (risankizumab) is manufactured by AbbVie. It was approved by the FDA in April. It is an IL-23 inhibitor administered by injection. It is designed to treat anyone that has been considered for a biologic type treatment or for phototherapy. Siliq (Brodalumab) was actually approved in 2017 but I wanted to include it here since it is not widely known. It is manufactured by Valeant.

Understanding your treatment options

There is no reason not to treat your psoriasis. With so many options on the market to treat psoriasis why would you not? While I am aware that there is a lot of stigma that comes with biologics because of the case of it causing real side effects, any medication you take comes with possible side effects. With so many new treatment options psoriasis should not get to a point of causing extra problems. When your psoriasis is severe it can create comorbidities that can cause more damage to your health. I am not saying that medicines are the only treatment for psoriasis. There are also holistic treatments as well. I did not list them here because the Food and Drug Administration does not approve or disapprove of them. The reason being for that is there are no medicines in the product.

Choosing a treatment that works best for you

Whether you choose to approach your psoriasis in a holistic way or by using medication it is imperative to do your research. New medications are being approved at a much faster rate. You also have the option of talking to your doctor about new treatments. I am sure I left out some FDA approved treatments for psoriasis in 2019 in this article. Being in charge of your own health treatment is always a good thing. Don't just depend on the doctor, me, television advertisements, this article or anything else to take control of your health. Knowledge is power and the power is yours.