Amgen-AstraZeneca Psoriatic Arthritis Drug Shows Improvement - Analyst Blog

AstraZeneca AZN and partner Amgen AMGN announced that data from a phase II study (n = 168) evaluating the use of brodalumab in patients suffering from psoriatic arthritis was published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The data will also be presented at the annual meeting of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR).

In the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase II study, brodalumab demonstrated significant improvement (measured using the American College of Rheumatology score of 20% improvement/ACR20) in signs and clinical symptoms associated with psoriatic arthritis including tender and swollen joints at 12 weeks. It was also found that several patients continued to improve and the improvement was sustained through the first 52 weeks of the study.

Amgen and AstraZeneca are currently conducting two phase III studies (AMVISION-1 and AMVISION-2) evaluating the use of brodalumab in patients suffering from psoriatic arthritis. The study will also assess brodalumab's ability to prevent joint damage.

Apart from psoriatic arthritis, the companies are evaluating brodalumab for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (phase III) and asthma (phase II).

Both Amgen and AstraZeneca are working on strengthening their product portfolio and brodalumab is one of the key candidates in their pipeline. According to a press release issued by AstraZeneca, analysts estimate peak sales of brodalumab to range between $0.5 billion and $1.5 billion.

Amgen and AstraZeneca are both Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stocks. Some better-ranked stocks in the health care sector include Gilead Sciences GILD and Allergan AGN. Both Gilead and Allergan are Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks.