Drug maintains clear skin long-term: study

Novartis' psoriasis drug Cosentyx showed long-term efficacy in keeping patients' skin clear, the Swiss drugmaker says.

Novartis cited a study it hopes will ultimately help the company to win business from rival medicines made by Amgen and Johnson & Johnson.

More than 66 per cent of Cosentyx patients achieved "clear or almost clear" skin after four years, Novartis said, comparable with the 68.5 per cent who hit that milestone after one year.

data were presented for the first time at the 25th European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress in Vienna, Austria.

The data was presented at the 25th European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress in Vienna, Austria.