In fact, these agents continue to revolutionize patient care, experts say

Dermatologists in practice for two decades or more have borne witness to this transformation driven by biologics and their biosimilars. Many dermatologists have gone from offering patients earlier, limited options, often less effective and more challenging to administer, to agents that have had a “tremendous positive impact” on patient quality of life, said Ahuva Cices, MD, assistant professor of dermatology, at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. 

It’s not an entirely rosy picture, however. Some challenges with biologics remain, primarily limited access for some because of cost and insurance coverage. 

And before biologics became available, dermatologists used medicines with higher toxicities and lower efficacy: oral vitamin A medicines for psoriasis, as well as UV light, methotrexate, and cyclosporine, for psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.

Biologics have also permitted more of a holistic approach to patient care that was not possible previously, Cices told Medscape. 

“For example, with psoriasis we have established the association of systemic inflammation including inflammation in the joints that results in irreversible joint damage, vascular inflammation that is associated with cardiovascular disease, and associations with metabolic syndrome and related sequelae,” she said. 

Biologics allow for rapid skin clearance in many patients while also improving overall health, which, Cices said, “represented a true paradigm shift, moving us from merely suppressing symptoms to altering the course of disease and preventing long-term harm.” 

Source: MEDspace