CNTO 1275 (ustekinumab), a novel biologic drug that targets small proteins known as interleukins, has shown promise in phase III trials as a new approach to treating psoriasis, according to data presented Dec. 3rd at the World Congress of Dermatology in Buenos Aires.

In the multicenter study involving more than 1,200 patients, more than two thirds with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis who had two doses of the biologic CNT0 1275 achieved at least a 75 per cent reduction in symptoms after 12 weeks, according to its developer Centocor Inc.

In contrast, only 4 percent of those taking a placebo achieved a 75 percent reduction in symptions.

Ustekinumab is part of a new category of biologic drugs that targets chemical messengers in the immune system, in this case cytokines interleukin-12 and interleukin-23.

"These findings provide further evidence of the role of IL-12/23 in the pathogenesis of psoriasis and the promise that a new therapeutic approach like ustekinumab may hold for dermatologists and their patients living with this chronic, immune-related disease." said lead researcher Dr. Craig Leonardi of St. Louis University Medical School.

In addition to psoriasis, Centocor is investigating the biologic's potential to treat Crohn's disease.

Centocor has indicated it hopes to file before the end of the year for U.S. regulatory approval of ustekinumab, which would be more convenient for patients than the anti-TNF biologics Remicade and Enbrel.

Unlike Remicade, which is given as a two-hour intravenous infusion at a physician's office, ustekinumab is a self-injectable biologic -- and it can be administered far less frequently than Enbrel or biologic Humira, which also may soon be approved for treatment of psoriasis.