PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 26, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- People with psoriasis and their health care providers will have the opportunity to participate in research that aims to improve treatments and disease outcomes when the first independent U.S. psoriasis registry begins recruiting patients in 2015.

The registry, a joint collaboration with the National Psoriasis Foundation and Corrona, LLC, will initially track the drug safety reporting for secukinumab, a new biologic medication by Novartis Pharmaceuticals for moderate-to-severe psoriasis. The Corrona Psoriasis Registry will enroll at least 3,000 people with psoriasis on secukinumab and follow their treatment for at least eight years. Novartis is the first subscriber to the registry and did incur a subscriber fee.

To become an investigator in the registry or learn more about it, visit http://www.psoriasis.org/corrona-registry.

By collecting and analyzing data from thousands of people with psoriasis over many years, the registry will help clinicians, researchers and the pharmaceutical industry compare the effectiveness and safety of different psoriasis treatments. Data will be gathered through comprehensive questionnaires completed by patients and their dermatologists during appointments.

"Psoriasis therapies have improved greatly over the years, yet there still remains an important need for us to understand more about their long-term safety and the course of disease over a patient's lifetime," said Dr. BruceStrober, vice chair of UConn Health's department of dermatology and scientific director for the registry. "This registry will help determine which treatments are safest and most effective for psoriasis in the long term."

In addition to studying treatment safety and effectiveness, the registry will help identify possible causes of psoriasis, examine the relationship between psoriasis and other health conditions, and study the impact of the disease on quality of life, among other outcomes.

"Post approval studies such as the Corrona Psoriasis Registry that collect standardized data on newly approved therapies and comparator drugs are needed to provide patients and clinicians, as well as regulators and payors, with real world evidence on long-term comparative effectiveness and safety," said Dr. Jeff Greenberg, chief scientific officer with Corrona and clinical associate professor of medicine at NYU School of Medicine.

Psoriasisa painful, chronic, genetic disease that causes the skin to crack, itch and bleedis the most common autoimmune disease in the country, affecting up to 7.5 million Americans. People with psoriasis are at increased risk for heart disease, heart attack, stroke, diabetes, obesity and depression. Up to 30 percent of psoriasis patients develop psoriatic arthritis, an inflammatory joint and tendon disease.

Learn more about the psoriasis registry and how you can participate at http://www.psoriasis.org/corrona-registry.

About the National Psoriasis FoundationNational Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) is the world's largest nonprofit serving those with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Our priority is to provide the services people need to take control of their condition, while increasing research to find a cure. In addition to serving more than 2.1 million people annually through our education and advocacy initiatives, NPF has funded more than $10 million in psoriatic disease research grants and fellowships. Learn more at http://www.psoriasis.org or call 800.723.9166. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

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First independent U.S. psoriasis registry will track drug safety and effectiveness