Psoriasis is a chronic, immune-mediated skin disease that affects about 2-3% of the world’s population. In addition to physical and traumatic skin damage, psoriasis also causes psychological damage due to its appearance altering effects.

It is estimated that more than more than 125 million people worldwide suffer from psoriasis, with 25 million psoriasis patients in U.S. and Europe alone. In the US there are 1.5 million medical visits by psoriasis patients per year, with 260,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Psoriasis occurs about equally in males and females.

The market for psoriasis drugs is expected to exceed $3B by 1013, with sales of topical treatments for psoriasis currently reaches above $1.1 billion.

There are five types of Psoriasis each with unique signs and symptoms, the most common of which is plaque psoriasis (about 80% of psoriasis patients).

Psoriasis is a hyperproliferative epidermal disease, manifested by abnormal proliferation and differentiation of the epidermal cells. The most common clinical manifestation of mild to moderate form of the disease is the appearance of a well demarcated inflamed skin lesions covered with silvery white scale, spreading on 10%-15% of body surface. About 85% of patients with Plaque Psoriasis have mild to moderate forms of the disease.

Finding a safe and efficacious therapy is the greatest unmet need in psoriasis. Patients with psoriasis often receive drug treatments for several decades, but few of the effective agents that are available are safe enough for long-term use. In a survey conducted in 2002 by the U.S. National Psoriasis Foundation, 78% of all respondents indicated that they were not using the more aggressive therapies because of their potential side effects.