Jan 8 (Reuters) – Eli Lilly said on Thursday a late-stage trial showed its weight-loss drug Zepbound, used with its psoriatic arthritis treatment Taltz, improved arthritis symptoms and drove weight loss better than Taltz alone.
Lilly said 31.7% of patients who received Taltz plus Zepbound met the main goal of the study: at least a 50% reduction in psoriatic arthritis disease activity and at least 10% weight loss after 36 weeks. That compared with 0.8% of patients who took Taltz alone and met the same combined outcome.
Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic, immune-mediated inflammatory disease linked to psoriasis. It can cause joint pain and stiffness, along with nail and skin issues.
In a separate measure, Lilly said 33.5% of patients on Taltz plus Zepbound achieved the benchmark of at least a 50% reduction in disease activity compared with 20.4% on Taltz alone.
The study enrolled 271 overweight or obese adults with active psoriatic arthritis and at least one additional weight-related condition.
Lilly said about 65% of U.S. adults with psoriatic arthritis also have obesity or are overweight and have at least one additional weight-related comorbidity.
“These results demonstrate how an integrated treatment approach has the potential to improve the standard of care in a compelling and comprehensive way,” said Mark Genovese, senior vice president of Lilly Immunology Development.
The most common side effects associated with the combination included nausea, diarrhea and constipation occurring in at least 5% of participants, Lilly said.
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
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