Almirall has presented new two-year results from its POSITIVE study at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) congress in Paris, showing that treatment with tildrakizumab improved skin clearance, psychological health and quality of life for people with moderate to severe psoriasis.

POSITIVE is the first real-world evidence study in dermatology to use the World Health Organization’s five-item Well-Being Index (WHO-5) as a primary endpoint, alongside traditional measures such as PASI and DLQI. Researchers said the approach marks a shift toward more holistic management of psoriasis.

The multinational phase 4 study followed 785 adults across nine European countries who received tildrakizumab in routine practice. Findings showed patients’ average WHO-5 well-being scores rose from 53.7 at baseline – below the European average of 64.9 – to 70.4 after two years, surpassing the population mean. PASI scores improved from 12.9 to 1.3, with nearly 80% of patients maintaining PASI ≤2 at two years, while quality of life and partner burden also improved.

Prof Ulrich Mrowietz, lead investigator of the study, said: “POSITIVE takes a truly holistic approach to managing psoriasis by incorporating PROs that were previously unexplored in dermatology, such as the WHO-5 score for measuring psychological well-being and the impact of the disease on patient’s partners. This study provides valuable new insights for the dermatology community.”

Treatment was generally well tolerated, with a safety profile consistent with earlier studies.

Volker Koscielny, chief medical officer at Almirall, added: “The POSITIVE study demonstrates that advanced therapies such as those targeting IL-23 can truly raise the bar when it comes to treatment success. Measuring psychological and physical wellbeing as primary outcomes, the POSITIVE study demonstrates comprehensively – for the first time – that patients can ‘get their lives back’ as a range of relevant health aspects improve with treatment.”

The results support the World Health Organization’s recent resolution recognising skin diseases as a global public health priority and calling for more integrated dermatology care.

Almirall said it is sharing 44 abstracts at EADV 2025 across conditions including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and actinic keratosis, along with two scientific symposia.