Professor Anthony Chu, former senior consultant at Imperial Healthcare Trust, and Hammersmith and Ealing hospitals in London, said hundreds of thousands of sufferers could benefit from using ‘Soratinex’ where more traditional treatments have failed.
The trials in London found that 60 per cent of patients with plaque psoriasis – the most common kind – experienced improvements in their symptoms ranging from 51-100 per cent after just eight weeks.
‘I have been hugely impressed by the results – in some cases the improvements were quite miraculous,’ said Professor Chu, who has no financial interest in Soratinex. ‘Nearly all the patients in our trial experienced some benefit, but 60 per cent of them experienced significant improvements of between than 51 and 100 per cent.
‘In terms of well-being, almost half said their quality of life had improved by between 76 and 100 per cent, and there were no negative side-effects.’
Psoriasis is an immune condition that speeds up the skin replacement process, meaning cells that normally take 21 to 28 days to replace are actually produced in a few days. This build-up of cells results in raised ‘plaques’ which can become inflamed, flaky and painful. Almost 2 million people in the UK have psoriasis.
Most sufferers are treated with creams containing steroids which can cause side effects such as changes in blood pressure and decreased growth in children.
Soratinex is a three-step steroid-free treatment for plaque psoriasis involving a gel that removes flaky deposits, a cream that reduces inflammation and an oil that moisturises and creates a protective layer. It has been safely used for many years in Australia and parts of Europe, marketed as ‘Dr Michaels’. It contains natural oils, herbal ingredients and minerals, which make it safe even for young children.
Soratinex is available in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary, and is now being introduced to the UK to coincide with Psoriasis Awareness Week, October 29.
The treatment is designated a ‘Medical Device’ under EU law and can be bought online at https://www.franklpharma.co.uk without a prescription. Sets, expected to last patients with mild to moderate symptoms between one and three months, retail at £76.50 for small and £121.05 for large.
This compares favourably with traditional hospital-based treatments for severe psoriasis such as such as Ciclosporine, which can cost around £2,000 a year, Methotrexate from £2-300 a year and biologics (cellular treatments grown in the lab) for the most severe cases, which can cost up to £14,000 a year.
The results of the UK trial, which was conducted over a year with a cohort of 20 patients, echo the results of eight studies with larger cohorts conducted by senior dermatologists across Europe. In these, involving 2,050 patients, 85 per cent experienced an improvement in their symptoms of between 51 and 100 per cent.
Greg Pittard, 47, from North West London, one of the volunteers on the UK trial, had psoriasis covering 25 per cent of his body for 18 years. He said: ‘Within a couple of days of using Soratinex my red patches started to clear up and then I began to see other patches below them, which were areas of normal skin.
‘Then it became less inflamed and my skin calmed right down. It is continuing to improve and I’m seeing clear, good skin. There is about a 70 per cent improvement and obviously I’m hoping it goes to 100 per cent.
‘I’m feeling so much happier and confident about myself. I was the last person to be accepted on the trials and I was sceptical when I walked through the door. Now I just can’t believe how lucky I was.’
FRANKL Pharma, European distributors of Soratinex, met the cost of the trial.
