The BALANCE study, which is being led by the Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit's Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology group (OCTRU EMR) at the Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Science (NDORMS), aims to recruit 30 participants with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis across four NHS sites in England. The study will include patients who are switching to the biologic monoclonal antibody Bimekizumab as part of their routine care. A biologic monoclonal antibody is a laboratory-produced protein designed to mimic the body's immune system, and Bimekizumab works by blocking two inflammatory proteins.
People with psoriatic disease are at increased risk of developing liver disease, due in part to some of the medications that are used to try to treat it. As well as affecting patients' general health and quality of life, liver disease can also make treatment of psoriatic disease more difficult.
Previous research by the Oxford study team suggests that treatments for psoriatic disease that block an inflammatory protein called interleukin-17, such as Bimekizumab, may help to improve liver health.