Study of Efficacy and Safety of Secukinumab 2 mL Auto-injector (300 mg) in Subjects With Moderate to Severe Plaque Psoriasis

The primary purpose of this study is to assess efficacy, safety and tolerability of a 2 mL pre-filled auto-injector (AI) of 300 mg secukinumab in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis

This is a 52-weeks multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial in approximately 120 subjects with moderate to severe plaque-type psoriasis

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

Subjects eligible for inclusion in this study must have fulfilled all of the following criteria:

1. Men or Women of at least 18 years of age at time of Screening
2. Subjects able to understand and communicate with the investigator and comply with the requirements of the study and must have given a written, signed and dated informed consent before any study related activity was performed. Where relevant, a legal representative signed the informed study consent according to local laws and regulations.
3. Chronic plaque-type psoriasis present for at least 6 months and diagnosed before Randomization.
4. Moderate to severe psoriasis as defined at Randomization by:

   * PASI score of 12 or greater, and
   * IGA mod 2011 score of 3 or greater (based on a scale of 0 - 4), and
   * Body Surface Area (BSA) affected by plaque-type psoriasis of 10% or greater.
5. Candidate for systemic therapy. This is defined as a subject having moderate to severe chronic plaque-type psoriasis that is inadequately controlled by

   * Topical treatment and/or
   * Phototherapy and/or
   * Previous systemic therapy

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Forms of psoriasis other than chronic plaque-type (e.g., pustular, erythrodermic and guttate psoriasis) at Screening or Randomization.
2. Ongoing use of prohibited treatments. Washout periods detailed in the protocol had to be adhered to. Subjects not willing to limit UV light exposure (e.g., sunbathing and/or the use of tanning devices) during the course of the study were considered not eligible for this study since UV light exposure was prohibited.

   Note: administration of live vaccines 6 weeks prior to Randomization or during the study period was also prohibited.
3. Previous exposure to secukinumab (AIN457) or any other biologic drug directly targeting IL-17 or the IL-17 receptor.
4. Use of other investigational drugs at the time of enrollment, or within 5 half-lives of enrollment, or within 30 days until the expected pharmacodynamic effect had returned to baseline, whichever is longer; or longer if required by local regulations.
5. Pregnant or nursing (lactating) women, where pregnancy was defined as the state of a female after conception and until the termination of gestation, confirmed by a positive hCG laboratory test.
6. History of lymphoproliferative disease or any known malignancy or history of malignancy of any organ system treated or untreated within the past 5 years, regardless of whether there was evidence of local recurrence or metastases (except for Bowen's disease, or basal cell carcinoma or actinic keratoses that had been treated with no evidence of recurrence in the past 12 weeks; carcinoma in situ of the cervix or non-invasive malignant colon polyps that have been removed).
7. History of hypersensitivity to any of study drug constituent