Eli Lilly and Company has announced that Taltz met co-primary endpoints as well as all major secondary endpoints in a Phase 3 study in pediatric patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, demonstrating that 89 percent of patients treated with Taltz achieved a significant 75 percent improvement from baseline to Week 12 on their Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score (PASI 75) and 81 percent of patients treated with Taltz achieved a static Physician's Global Assessment of clear or almost clear skin (sPGA 0,1). Results of the study are being presented as a late-breaking oral presentation at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress (EADV) in Madrid, Spain. Based on these positive results, Lilly plans to submit for U.S. regulatory approval for pediatric patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis.

"Results from our study indicate that Taltz may have the potential to clear skin and reduce itch in pediatric patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis," said study investigator Kim Papp, MD, PhD, Probity Medical Research, Inc., Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. "While it is estimated that up to one third of people with psoriasis first develop symptoms during childhood, there are limited medications available for pediatric patients. This study provides encouraging data supporting the potential for Taltz to become another treatment option for this patient population."

"We recognize that psoriasis can have a significant impact on children and adolescents, causing challenging symptoms and affecting their self-esteem and ability to connect to peers," said Lotus Mallbris, M.D., Ph.D., vice president of immunology development at Lilly. "We're pleased to see positive results for Taltz in pediatric patients. These results build on more than five years of safety and efficacy data in adults and support the potential for Taltz in this new population, pending regulatory approvals."

In this trial, the overall safety profile of Taltz was consistent with previously reported results. The Taltz safety profile has been studied across 15 clinical trials in plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, with 6,989 patients receiving Taltz, with a total exposure of 16,586 patient-years.