Psoriasis

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Monday rejected Allergan Inc.'s oral psoriasis drug Tazoral because it could cause birth defects when used by pregnant women. Allergan's shares slid nearly 4% after the panel's 9-3 vote and continued to tumble in after-hours trading. Tazoral is aimed at people with moderate to severe psoriasis, but panelists worried that the drug would be prescribed to treat acne, a much more common condition affecting teens and young adults.

I am confused by the vocal and vehement opposition to the development of Soka University in the Calabasas area. I read with alarm the remarks of leaders like Les Hardie who purports to represent the views of his community, and those of Calabasas City Council members. After attending a community information presentation at Soka University, I believe these views are misinformed or uninformed. Possibly both.

The UC Irvine College of Medicine is looking for psoriasis sufferers to test new drug treatments for the skin disease. Dermatologists at the medical school are beginning studies of treatment programs for mild and severe psoriasis. The hereditary disease causes itchy, red, scaly patches to form on the skin, often on the scalp and joints such as the elbows and knees.

"A Cheaper and Better Therapy for Psoriasis" (Letters, Nov. 30) told only part of the story. Far from being indifferent to it, the National Psoriasis Foundation has been trying to generate U.S. interest in fumaric acid esters since 1985 and provided advice to its European manufacturer back in 1996. We are thrilled that Biogen Idec has licensed the next generation of this product for the United States, so we can learn more about this drug and finally see whether it can bring relief to Americans with psoriasis who are looking for additional treatment options.

Irvine eye- and skin-care company Allergan Inc. said Monday that its Tazorac Cream for psoriasis treatment received marketing approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Allergan said in a press release that the product is a new retinoid cream formulation specifically approved to treat plaque psoriasis. Gel forms of Tazorac have been approved since 1997 to treat stable plaque psoriasis, and one gel formulation has been indicated to treat facial acne since that time.

Genentech Inc. warned doctors of a potential anemia risk for users of its Raptiva psoriasis drug and updated earlier cautions about infections and a bleeding disorder. Two people had a form of anemia stemming from premature destruction of red blood cells during studies conducted to win Raptiva's U.S. approval in 2003, the South San Francisco-based company said in a letter to doctors posted on the Food and Drug Administration's website.

The Food and Drug Administration said it would update the labeling of Genentech Inc.'s psoriasis drug Raptiva to highlight the risk of several bacterial and viral conditions. The added warnings follow Genentech's announcement this month that Raptiva might have contributed to a patient getting progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML, which causes swelling of the brain and is usually fatal.

Amgen Inc. won U.S. approval Friday to market its rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel as a treatment for the skin disorder psoriasis. A Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman said Enbrel had been approved for chronic moderate to severe psoriasis, an inflammatory condition that causes red, scaly patches of skin and afflicts more than 7 million people in the United States.

A biological medication already widely used to treat plaque psoriasis may be able to slow the accumulation of amyloid plaques in the brain that are the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, a new study has found. The same study found that in older mice with established Alzheimer's, this treatment approach, which suppresses the brain's immune reaction to beta amyloid, brought a marked improvement in cognitive function and may even halt or reverse early signs of Alzheimer's. The new study was published this week in the journal Nature Medicine.