Calcipotriene Ointment: A New Topical Treatment for Psoriasis

Abstract

Calcipotriene ointment 0.005% (Dovonex), marketed by Westwood Squibb Pharmaceuticals, has recently been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of moderate plaque psoriasis. Calcipotriene, also called calcipotriol or MC 903, is a structural analogue of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and is recognized with equal affinity by the 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor. However, calcipotriene's effects on calcium metabolism are 100 times less potent than those of vitamin D.1 In the mid-1980s it was found that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 inhibited the proliferation of fibroblasts in culture.2 Around the same time, a patient being treated with 1-alphahydroxyvitamin D3 for osteoporosis was reported to show dramatic improvement in her psoriasis.3 Soon after, several investigators reported the use of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 and a variety of analogues for the treatment of psoriasis. Several placebo-controlled, randomized, double-blind trials have found calcipotriene ointment to be effective, rapidly acting, and safe in the treatment of psoriasis.4,5,6 The drug is more …