Plaque Psoriasis and Work Productivity

A poster presentation at Maui Derm Hawaii 2023 in Maui, Hawaii observedhow tildrakizumab (Ilumya) impacted the work productivity of those who have psoriasis, which poses an economic burden on the healthcare system and patients if left untreated.¹ Researchers in California, Michigan, and New Jersey found tildrakizumab treatment significantly improvedwork productivity in psoriasis patients.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited funded the 64-week, multicenter studyof adults (n=55) with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Participants were also candidates for phototherapy or systemic therapy. Tildrakizumab 100 mg was administered at weeks 0 (baseline), 4, 16, 28, 40, and 52 by a healthcare provider. Participants were asked to evaluate their work productivity based on the Work Productivity and Activity Impairment Questionnaire: Psoriasis (WPAI:PSO), which measures the following:

• Absenteeism–Percentage of time missed from work due to psoriasis
• Presenteeism–Percentage reduction of productivity at work due to psoriasis
• Total activity impairment–Percentage of impairment in activities other than work due to psoriasis
• Total work productivity impairment–Total percentage of work impairment from both absenteeism and presenteeism due to psoriasis

At the end of the study, 31 of the 55 patients enrolled completed the WPAI:PSO. Self-assessments from patients showed statistically significant improvements in all factors of work productivity (except absenteeism) compared to baseline starting at 16 weeks. Although the reduction in absenteeism from baseline was not significant, this was likely due to the near-zero baseline value for absenteeism. Meanwhile, all other factors in the WPA:PSO decreased, which is a positive reflection of the treatment. The mean presenteeism domain score decreased significantly from baseline(20.5 ± 21.7) to week 64 (2.6 ± 5.8): -89.7%, mean of total activity impairment decreased from baseline (29.5 ± 26.6) to week 64 (4.4 ± 9.4): -87%, and mean of total work productivity impairment decreased from baseline (20.9 ± 22.2) to Week 64 (2.6 ± 5.8):-89.7%.

This study shows that tildrakizumab treatment not only improved patients’ physical health, but also quality of life and work productivity. Tildrakizumab is an anti-interleukin-23 p19 monoclonal antibody that has been approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adults who qualify for systemic therapy or phototherapy.

Reference

1. Bhatia N, Heim J, Schenkel B, et al. Psoriasis-related work productivity improvement from a Phase 4 real-world study of tildrakizumab in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Poster presented at: Maui Derm Hawaii 2023; January 23-27, 2023. Maui, HI.