Replies to post #47226 on Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc (IPIX)

[Chemdeps]

DJ:

I was under the impression that Aprimilast was being tested for psoriatic arthritis (not psoriasis). Further, while it sounds like the results are good for the specific arthritic condition, it did not seem like they were stellar. What am I missing?

[sox040713]

Because Apremilast does not CURE psoriasis but Prurisol has the potential to CURE it.

"During a phase 3 trial back in March, a third of the patients given apremilast showed a 75% reduction in psoriasis in comparison to a placebo. However, that was considerably less than the 41% that had shown the same reduction of psoriasis during an earlier phase 2 trial -- which indicated that the drug might not be an attractive alternative to market dominating biologics from AbbVie , Johnson & Johnson , and Amgen."

[MrW]

You've got to be kidding me. You're pulling our leg.

The PsA study shows that after week 16 40% of patients on a 20mg dose improved had an ACR20 (20% improvement). 35% of patients on a 30mg dose showed the same 20% improvement.
After 52 weeks, 30% of patients reached an ACR50 and 20% reached an ACR70.

So, 30% of patients got a bit better. Others got a little bit better.
The answer to your question would be that CTIX believes Prurisol works better. But that's just a guess by me, and I'm no doctor like you (and it was from a short reading because I was looking up something fictional as you continually spell the name of the drug incorrectly.)
-W

[BonelessCat]

Maybe because Apremilast is administered twice daily for 16 weeks, while Prurisol is administered twice daily for 3 weeks. A 16 week course of Apremilast will be in the area of $8,000, cheaper than Humira and Stelara (~$13K) against both of which it is inferior, but still expensive. Maybe even because in the previous Phase 3 (to which you allude) it only achieved 33% PASI-75, the benchmark for efficacy, which is a dramatic drop from the 41% PASI-75 in previous trials.

The above all seem like good reasons to take on Celgene who only expects to capture 10% of the psoriasis market.

I would suggest some posters here read about Celgene's Aprilimast and its success in phase 3.
It will soon capture the psoriasis market and will be a global success.
Why would Leo want to take on Celgene and it's product when he can rapidly progress Brilacidin with the limited funds they have on hand.

[windansea]

woops. Just read many posts responding to Dr. Jerry's Post. Edited mine to talk about relative cost of Prurisol only.
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One of the current psoriasis drugs, Enbrel, is very expensive. I do not know what the expected cost of Aprilimast (and others) will be, but I expect it would be competitive with Enbrel. If Prurisol can be even more economical AND be just a effective, wouldn't doctors and insurance companies make Prurisol the preferred choice?
My wife has a mild condition of psoriasis, but it is still a big issue In her life when an outbreak occurs. I would like to see Prurisol succeed, from the viewpoint of being both a stockholder and a potential customer for one of CTIX's products. IMO