Psoriasis Lesion Improvement at Week 16 Maintained to Week 52 with Bimekizumab

Improvement in moderate-to-severe psoriasis skin lesions at the 16-week mark with bimekizumab treatment may be almost completely maintained until the 52-week mark, new findings suggest, demonstrating long-term maintenance of response.1

These data resulted from a recent study led by a team of investigators, 1 of which was Marina Onda, from the Department of Dermatology at Nippon Medical School Chiba Hokusoh Hospital in Japan. Onda and colleagues highlighted that long-term clinical research had shown that a high proportion of those achieving clinical outcomes at the 16-week mark maintained such results for 3 years.2

Nevertheless, the team acknowledged the lack of clarity prior to this analysis about whether the outcomes occurring within the initial treatment period until the 16-week mark can be reliably maintained during the necessary 1-year maintenance period.

“The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the improvements in skin lesions or [quality of life] obtained at week 16 of bimekizumab treatment may be maintained until week 52 in real-world clinical settings,” Onda and colleagues wrote. “We also aimed to compare the maintenance rates for clinical outcomes between Q4W and Q8W dosing or between bio-naïve and bio-switched patients.”1

Analysis of Response Maintenance with Bimekizumab

The investigators involved Japanese patients in their analysis who were aged 15 years and older and had a diagnosis of moderate-to-severe psoriasis, conducting their prospective study in the period between May 2022 - September 2024.

The study subjects were treated with bimekizumab while at the Department of Dermatology of Nippon Medical School Chiba Hokusoh Hospital. They had their medication initiated with 320 mg of bimekizumab, a dose administered on an every-4-weeks (Q4W) basis until the 16-week mar. At this point, dosing adjustments were made by the investigative team based on participants’ clinical responses.

After this period, the team had 26 of the subjects carry on with the 320 mg Q4W regimen, whereas 37 subjects were transitioned to a 320-mg dosing regimen every 8 weeks (Q8W).

Those included as trial participants could have plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, or erythrodermic psoriasis. Subjects reporting a switch directly from another biologic treatment to bimekizumab were asked to do so without a washout period.

These individuals’ Static Physician's Global Assessment (sPGA), Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI), and Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) values during the time of their shift were recorded by the investigators as baseline measures.

Overall, the investigative team looked at baseline clinical characteristics and demographics among all study subjects prior to initiation of bimekizumab. They looked at such qualities as body mass index (BMI), sex, age, duration of psoriasis, history of psoriatic arthritis, and the existence of nail, scalp, or genital involvement. They further highlighted any comorbid conditions in their assessment.

Durability of clinical responses among these participants were documented by the investigative team, looking at those first achieved at the 16-week mark and responses maintained through the observation period through to Week 52.1 They analyzed rates of maintenance for absolute PASI scores ≤2 and ≤1, PASI 75, PASI 90, PASI 100, sPGA 0/1, and DLQI 0/1. The team also stratified such findings based on dosing intervals as well as previous biologic use.

In all of the subjects assessed in their analysis, the investigators found that maintenance rates for PASI 75, absolute PASI ≤1, absolute PASI ≤2, and sPGA 0/1 were shown to remain close to 100% through the 52-week mark. This was noted to have occurred regardless of dosing regimen or previous exposure to biologics.

In contrast, the research team found that rates of response maintenance for DLQI 0/1 had declined to approximately 80% over the same timeframe. While the team did find that PASI 90 and PASI 100 scores were sustained at close to 100% in the Q4W cohort and among those who were biologic-naïve and given Q8W dosing, these rates dropped to 71.4% at the 52-week mark among those included in the Q8W arm who had been switched from another biologic previously.

“These results indicate that patients with lower laboratory systemic inflammatory indexes might be more likely to achieve PASI 100 at week 16 and maintain the achievement during further long-term (around 1 year) bimekizumab treatment,” they concluded.1

References

1. Onda M, Hagino T, Saeki H, Fujimoto E, Kanda N. Long-term maintenance of responses to bimekizumab treatment in moderate-to-severe psoriasis: A real-world comparison of Q4W versus Q8W dosing or bio-naïve versus bio-switched patients. J Dermatol. 2025; 00: 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/1346-8138.17700.

2. Strober B, Tada Y, Mrowietz U, Lebwohl M, Foley P, Langley RG, et al. Bimekizumab maintenance of response through 3 years in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis: results from the BE BRIGHT open-label extension trial. Br J Dermatol. 2023; 188: 749–759.