ORIGINAL ARTICLE   Free access

Italian Journal of Dermatology and Venereology 2022 August;157(4):313-7

DOI: 10.23736/S2784-8671.21.07125-5

Copyright © 2021 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Use of Apremilast® in the psoriasis treatment: a real-life multicenter Italian experience

Federica FILIPPI ^{1, 2}, Annalisa PATRIZI ^{1, 2} ✉, Luca IEZZI ^{1, 2}, Miriam A. CARPANESE ^{1, 2}, Andrea CONTI ³, Claudia LASAGNI ³, Michela TABANELLI ⁴, Simone D’ADAMIO ⁴, Sergio DI NUZZO ⁵, Chiara CORTELAZZI ⁵, Vito DI LERNIA ⁶, Francesca PECCERILLO ⁶, Monica CORAZZA ⁷, Giulia ODORICI ⁷, Federico BARDAZZI ^{1, 2}

¹ Unit of Dermatology, University Hospital of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; ² Unit of Dermatology, Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy; ³ Unit of Dermatology, Department of Surgical, Medical, Dental and Morphological Sciences Related to Transplant, Oncology and Regenerative Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy; ⁴ Unit of Dermatology, AUSL della Romagna, Ravenna, Italy; ⁵ Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy; ⁶ Unit of Dermatology, IRCCS Arcispedale S. Maria Nuova di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy; ⁷ Section of Dermatology, Department of Medical Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

BACKGROUND: Apremilast^® (Amgen, Thousand Oaks, CA, USA) is the first small molecule approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe psoriasis in adult patients; however, real-life data are still limited. We investigated the effectiveness and safety of this drug in a multicenter real-world setting.
METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed data from all psoriatic patients who received at least one dose of Apremilast^® (Amgen) and collected demographic data and medical history at baseline and periodically for 36 months.
RESULTS: A total of 111 patients entered in the study. The mean drug survival duration was 21.8±10.6 months; however, it was significantly shorter when comorbidities were ≥3 and if biologic drugs were previously administered. ΔPASI90 was achieved in 29% of patients and ΔPASI50 in 68% at T4; the rate of ΔPASI improvement increased progressively at T12, T24, T36 in patients who continued to receive Apremilast^® (Amgen). At the end of the study 50 patients discontinued the treatment because of adverse events (19.8%), primary failure (19%) or secondary failure (6.3%).
CONCLUSIONS: Apremilast^® (Amgen) proved to be an effective, safe, and manageable drug, showing effectiveness also in difficult-to-treat patients with psoriasis, with a favorable tolerability profile and a potentially valid weight loss effect. We believe that treating patients with few comorbidities who are naive to biological therapy may result in higher response rates and longer mean drug survival.

KEY WORDS: Psoriasis; Apremilast; Therapy