Date: June 9, 2016

Source: Northwestern University

Summary: About 80 percent of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis saw their disease completely or almost completely cleared with a new drug called ixekizumab, according to three large, long-term clinical trials.

About 80 percent of patients with moderate to severe psoriasis saw their disease completely or almost completely cleared with a new drug called ixekizumab, according to three large, long-term clinical trials led by Northwestern Medicine.

The results of these phase III trials were compiled in a paper published in theNew England Journal of Medicine.

"This group of studies not only shows very high and consistent levels of safety and efficacy, but also that the great majority of the responses persist at least 60 weeks," said Dr. Kenneth Gordon, a professor of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and first author of the paper.