New developments in topical psoriasis therapy

There have not been many new developments in topical therapies for psoriasis in the past few years. One of the few new topical agents, for the scalp, that was recently approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration is a fixed-dose formulation of 0.064% betamethasone dipropionate and 0.005% calcipotriene suspension (Taclonex Scalp®). The ointment formulation of this fixed-dose therapy has been available for some years and is discussed separately in Chapter 6 of this text. In this chapter, in addition to the fixed-dose betamethasone/calcipotriene scalp formulation, we will discuss other new topical psoriatic therapies. These therapies include a new spray formulation of clobetasol propionate 0.05% (Clobex® Spray), clobetasol propionate 0.05% shampoo (Clobex® Shampoo), and clobetasol propionate 0.05% lotion (Clobex Lotion), as well as hydrogel patch.