Brodalumab for the treatment of plaque psoriasis: up-to-date

Introduction: Brodalumab is one of the most efficacious biologic agents available for psoriasis. It also has a unique mechanism; it is the only agent that blocks the entire interleukin 17 receptors instead of blocking individual cytokines. However, the main drawback is that brodalumab has an FDA mandated black box warning regarding suicide. This is an up-to-date article reviews the scientific validity of this issue with brodalumab and suicide.

Areas covered: A worldwide literature search was conducted on the above issue regarding suicide risk and brodalumab. All relevant articles on this topic searchable in public domain were utilized.

Expert opinion: The FDA black box warning is based on three completed suicides that happened in one research location out of 390 research sites worldwide. All three completed suicides have alternative explanations unrelated to brodalumab. The overall data from phase III clinical trials shows that psoriasis patients recorded significant improvement in depression after treatment with brodalumab. The overall impression is that the suicide issue is far from being scientifically validated and this is why the FDA itself stated in the package insert that “the cause and effect relationship these suicides and brodalumab has not been established.”