A new real-world study from researchers at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences offers reassuring data on the psychiatric safety of bimekizumab for patients with psoriasis.
Bimekizumab (BIMZELX®) is approved to treat adults with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, active psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, active non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis, and moderate-to-severe hidradenitis suppurativa. In the U.S. prescribing information for BIMZELX (bimekizumab-bkzx), a warning for suicidal ideation and behavior appears in the Warnings and Precautions section. The label notes that an increased incidence of new-onset or worsening suicidal ideation and behavior was observed among subjects treated with BIMZELX in clinical trials.
Given the potential for this warning, GW researchers sought to evaluate its validity using real-world data.
Published in JAAD International, the study analyzed nearly 3,800 adults using the TriNetX U.S. Collaborative Network to compare rates of new-onset depression and suicidal ideation among patients treated with bimekizumab versus IL-23 inhibitors.
Researchers found no increased risk of depression or suicidal ideation with bimekizumab compared with IL-23 inhibitors. In fact, over two years of follow-up, psychiatric events occurred less frequently among patients receiving bimekizumab.
The study strengthens confidence in the psychiatric safety of bimekizumab, a medication approved for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.
If you would like to speak to one of the researchers, please contact Katelyn Deckelbaum at katelyn [dot] deckelbaum
gwu [dot] edu (katelyn[dot]deckelbaum[at]gwu[dot]edu).
-GW-