Abstract
Certolizumab pegol is a targeted biological drug blocking tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), which plays a key role in inflammatory processes including psoriasis. Although certolizumab is a relatively new drug for the treatment of psoriasis, we have availible both clinical trials data and real-world long-term data on the efficacy and safety of certolizumab in patients with rheumatic diseases, with comparable results to other anti-TNF-α group drugs.
However, certolizumab differs from other drugs in this class by its molecule, as it is a pegylated antibody of the antigen-binding fragment, which does not actively cross the placenta or into breast milk. Certolizumab is therefore a suitable drug, especially for women of childbearing potential who are planning to become pregnant in the future, pregnant patients, and breastfeeding women, because they do not have to interrupt treatment of their disease.