Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory arthritis condition with clinically heterogeneous manifestations. If left untreated, patients with psoriatic arthritis may suffer pain, reduced quality of life, joint damage, and disability.
The advent of new therapies, that can modify the course of the disease preventing deformity and disability, has revolutionized the therapeutic attitude with an early use of Disease Modifying Anti Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs). Currently, there are two available classes of pharmacological agents: conventional synthetic chemical compounds (csDMARDs) and biotechnological agents (bDMARDs), with different pharmacological properties and consequently different prescriptive modalities.
Methotrexate (MTX) remains the most commonly used drug in the treatment of PsA, while biologic therapies when confined to cases of PsA refractory to DMARDs are considered to be cost effective by leading Health Technology Assessment agencies and, therefore, eligible for reimbursement by public health services.
However, biologic therapies have a considerable financial impact that is a matter of concern for public health services, worthy of analysis and insights.
 

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Key words: psoriatic arthritis, Disease Modifying Anti Rheumatic Drugs, biologic therapy