A RECENT cohort study comparing the effectiveness of adalimumab biosimilars Amjevita and Imraldi with the originator Humira for psoriasis found no significant differences between the treatments. The study, which included 11,400 patients, assessed both new users and patients who switched from Humira to either Amjevita or Imraldi. The primary outcomes were achieving a Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) score of 2 or less, indicating minimal disease, or a PASI score of 4 or less, showing good control of the disease, at 12 months after treatment initiation.
The study showed that new users of Amjevita or Imraldi had similar probabilities of achieving the target PASI scores compared to new Humira users. The adjusted odds ratios for Amjevita and Imraldi were close to 1, indicating no significant difference in efficacy compared to Humira. Similarly, patients who switched from Humira to either Amjevita or Imraldi also had no statistically significant differences in the likelihood of achieving the same PASI scores. These findings suggest that both biosimilars are as effective as Humira for treating psoriasis, whether starting treatment or switching after long-term Humira use.
Data for the study were collected from the British Association of Dermatologists Biologics and Immunomodulators Register (BADBIR), which tracks patients receiving biologic treatments for psoriasis in the UK and Republic of Ireland. The study included 6,133 new users and 5,267 patients who had been on Humira for more than two years and were switching to one of the biosimilars. The analysis accounted for potential confounding factors using inverse propensity weighting, ensuring that the results were robust and reliable.
Overall, the study’s findings support the use of Amjevita and Imraldi as equally effective alternatives to Humira in the real-world treatment of psoriasis. This could help alleviate uncertainties about the biosimilars’ effectiveness, potentially increasing their adoption in clinical practice.
Katie Wright, EMJ
Reference
Phan DB et al. Effectiveness of adalimumab biosimilars and originator for psoriasis. JAMA Dermatol. 2025;DOI:10.1001/jamadermatol.2025.0055.
