These findings represent an important step towards the development of better-designed treatments for psoriasis sufferers.
BBC: NEWS | UK | England | Tyne | Hope for skin complaint sufferers
That's true even though Amevive, for psoriasis, and Zevalin, for lymphoma, have been small sellers for Biogen.
For years biotech firms had tried but failed to develop drugs for psoriasis.
This morning, Biogen announced that the Food and Drug Administration has approved its drug Amevive as a treatment for psoriasis.
Rafael Tamargo, portfolio manager at Kalmar Investments, notes that the pharma firm has several promising drugs in the pipeline, including a treatment for psoriasis.
While a new treatment for psoriasis could be of value for these patients, this is probably not the type of breakthrough that GSK originally envisioned when they did this deal.
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The biggest potential for growth will come from new uses for existing drugs, such as rheumatoid arthritis drug Remicade, which is being tested and used for psoriasis and other disease.
Amevive is the first treatment for psoriasis, a skin disease that affects some 4 million patients in the U.S. It occurs because patients' immune systems run amok for unknown reasons, causing painful lesions and rashes.
She went to many doctors for all these different conditions, and they suggested various treatments, such as cortisone cream for the psoriasis.
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Prominent among these drugs is Amevive, a remedy for severe psoriasis, an autoimmune disorder that causes scaly rash in 7 million Americans (see FORBES, July 22, p. 208).
Within weeks Reilly had results predicting his colleague was at risk for baldness, psoriasis and glaucoma.
The big sleeper is tasocitinib, a so-called janus kinase inhibitor, for rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis.
Abbott Laboratories' Humira, for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and Crohn's disease, has been one of the pharmaceutical industry's biggest success stories.
Amgen also sells Enbrel, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis, and it has a handful of promising new drugs in its pipeline.
Abbott Laboratories' ( ABT - news - people ) Humira, for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and Crohn's disease, has been one of the pharmaceutical industry's biggest success stories.
This morning, biotechnology firms Genentech and Xoma announced that they stopped testing their experimental psoriasis drug Raptiva for rheumatoid arthritis.
Skin care products include treatments for acne, wrinkles and psoriasis.
And this year it received Indian regulatory approval for a treatment of the skin disease psoriasis.
Biologics like Amgen's Enbrel--a protein drug for immune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis--have become blockbusters.
Biologics like Amgen's (nasdaq: AMGN - news - people ) Enbrel--a protein drug for immune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis--have become blockbusters.
In another case, when Glaxo didn't have the expertise in-house, it created biotech company Tempero Pharmaceuticals to push forward science for treating autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and psoriasis.
Approvals for new drugs such as Stelara, which treats psoriasis, the prostate cancer drug Zytiga and the adult schizophrenia drug Invega Sustenna, showed strong sales results during the quarter, the company said.
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Enbrel is now in tests for two dozen other diseases, from chronic heart failure to psoriasis to Alzheimer's and even some cancers.
Immunex (nasdaq: IMNX - news - people ) comes with a gem of a drug: Enbrel, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis that may also treat other conditions, including psoriasis.
The immune-disease angle surfaced when doctors noticed that cancer patients who also had psoriasis found their skin improved when they took the immune suppressants methotrexate (for cancer) and cyclosporine (for organ transplants).
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