A BASINGSTOKE man has successfully completed a trial for a new drug to help against a form of arthritis.

The five year trial was of the pill Otezla, which is designed to ease the pain caused from the inflammation associated with psoriatic arthritis.

This form of arthritis develops in those already affected by the skin condition psoriasis that can impact the skin and joints of the sufferer, making carrying out everyday tasks like getting in or out of bed or walking outdoors on flat ground difficult.

Martin, 66, who is retired and is from Basingstoke, was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis 20 years ago. “I was really suffering badly with it,” he said, “I couldn’t do a lot of what I wanted to do. It made getting on with life a lot more difficult.”

There were a lot of treatments that Martin tried, none of which seemed to be effective. Then the opportunity presented itself to be a part of the five-year trial, and he went for it. Slowly but surely, taking a course of the drugs every three months, Martin’s condition began improving.

“It wasn’t immediate, it was a slow process of getting better over the years of using the drug. But there’s been a dramatic improvement. There’s nothing I can’t do anymore, I used to not be able to do my hobbies like gardening, walking or canal boating. It’s a new lease of life. I used to be half covered by psoriasis, now I would say less than two per cent of my body is. It’s a dramatic improvement, and it really worked for me. There have been no side effects for me so far.”

It is estimated that 296,000 people in the UK are affected by this disease, with the most common group of sufferers being people aged 30-50. The drug has now been approved for use on the NHS for over 6,890 people in England and Wales.

“Psoriatic arthritis is a painful condition that affects up to a third of people with psoriasis,” Carla Renton, information and communications manager at the Psoriasis Association said.

“Psoriatic arthritis can cause irreversible damage to the joints, which can have a detrimental effect on people’s lives. The introduction of Otezla on the NHS is good news for patients with this debilitating condition.”