J&J's ustekinumab shown to be effective on psoriasis

NEW YORK Phase III trials of Johnson & Johnson’s psoriasis drug ustekinumab have shown it to effectively control the skin disorder that affects 2.5 percent of Americans.

Subjects taking the drug experienced 75 percent reductions in the scaly lesions that the disorder causes. In the placebo group, 3.1 percent of subjects experienced reduction in symptoms.

The study examined 766 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis. They were divided into groups that received 45-milligram and 90-milligram doses of ustekinumab over the course of 76 weeks.