2022 ANNUAL REPORT
ADVANCING KNOWLEDGE
ENHANCING CARE
International Psoriasis Council
2022 Annual Report
BUILDING PSORIASIS LEADERS
INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP
IPC’s International Fellowship program provides young dermatologists and researchers interested in specializing in psoriasis full access to the knowledge of our network of experts and represents our commitment to cultivating expertise in the field. Awarded fellows are matched with IPC Board Members and Councilors to observe and participate in clinical practice and laboratory research activities focused on psoriasis. This opportunity provides real-world training in investigating, diagnosing, and developing treatment plans for patients with psoriasis. 2022 Fellows participated in six online classes and were matched with additional Councilors and Board Members for co-mentoring activities.
2022 FELLOWS
IPC REGIONAL PSORIASIS MASTERCLASS
The IPC Regional Psoriasis Masterclass program is designed for early to mid-career dermatologists interested in improving their expertise in caring for psoriasis patients. The virtual program is a robust 10-hour curriculum delivered by international and regional experts, allowing programs to be customized to the region’s unique needs and challenges. The comprehensive program covers a wide range of topics, including the pathogenesis of psoriasis, new and emerging therapies, comorbidities, and personalized care. In 2022, virtual programs were held for Africa and Eastern Mediterranean, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia. 229 dermatologists from 46 countries participated in the program.
PROJECTS AND PARTNERSHIPS
RECATEGORIZATION OF PSORIASIS SEVERITY
In 2019, IPC published a consensus statement that rejected the traditional classifications of psoriasis as mild, moderate, and severe and instead recommended that psoriasis patients be classified as either a candidate for topical therapy or a candidate for systemic therapy. To validate this from the patient perspective, in 2021, IPC partnered with the NPF to analyze its annual patient survey data. The manuscript with the results of this study is in the final draft and will be published soon. In addition, IPC has created a new disease severity resource page on the IPC website that includes two on-demand videos and additional resources from other sources.
Over the past year, IPC has been working with Councilors to determine if the classification is included in national guidelines. The survey results show that only 1/3 have some portion of the criteria in existing guidelines or will be incorporated in the next update. Because of this, a roundtable discussion amongst IPC Councilors and key opinion leaders was organized at the 2022 IPC Think Tank to discuss ways to promote adoption within national guidelines.
GLOBAL PSORIASIS ATLAS
Phase two of the Global Psoriasis Atlas (GPA) project has been initiated in partnership with the ILDS (International League of Dermatological Societies) and IFPA (International Federation of Psoriasis Associations). The University of Manchester continues to serve as the lead academic institution for the project. Workstreams for phase two include:
- Epidemiology of psoriasis,
- Early diagnosis of psoriasis,
- Comorbid disease burden of psoriasis, and
- The economic impact of psoriasis.
Over the past year, four manuscripts were published on topics including prevalence, comorbidities, and mortality of generalized pustular psoriasis, the incidence, prevalence, and mortality of psoriasis in Taiwan and Malaysia, and mapping opportunities for the earlier diagnosis of psoriasis in primary care settings in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, a clinical diagnostic training tool has been developed and piloted with general practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists.
SKIN OF COLOR
The Skin of Color (SOC) Working Group was recently developed and will work to better understand the unmet needs around psoriasis on skin of color, improve the ability of dermatologists to diagnose and treat psoriasis in individuals with skin of color, and support and collaborate on activities by other organizations related to skin color in psoriasis including patient and dermatology associations. Preliminary plans for 2023 include: Preparing an up-to-date narrative literature search, creating an atlas of images of skin of color and psoriasis, creating educational tools and resources for clinicians, and exploring collaborations with other organizations such as IFPA and the Skin of Color Society.
TELEMEDICINE
The Telemedicine Working Group was created to establish a road map for how IPC can aid the development and implementation of telemedicine focused on psoriasis diagnosis and management. The telemedicine working group has completed a global consensus statement regarding telemedicine in psoriasis management, considering cultural and technological differences. The publication, Telemedicine and Psoriasis: A Review Based on Statements of the Telemedicine Working Group of the International Psoriasis Council, [add link] is now available on the IPC’s website. Additional activities will include defining best practices for using telemedicine in treating psoriasis, educating dermatologists on both the opportunities and limitations of telemedicine and research to understand better the barriers to care based on current reimbursement policies on a global level.
VIRTUAL SYMPOSIA/WEBINARS
IPC continues to participate in important congresses around the globe. IPC experts spoke about various topics, including immunology from the perspective of comorbidities and early intervention; organizing psoriasis clinics in the future; treatment innovations; biomarkers and generalized pustular psoriasis; registries and real-world data, and multi-morbidity and psoriasis; among other. Nearly 2,500 dermatologists participated in IPC symposia during 2022.
RESEARCH
BEST-EVIDENCE REVIEW PAPERS
To lead efforts to tailor the medical treatment of psoriasis to each individual patient, the IPC commissions best-evidence review papers annually. In 2022, IPC developed the Global Burden of Pediatric Psoriasis project, comprised of a small group of IPC Councilors and colleagues to work with a vetted educational institution, the Pacific Northwest Evidence-Based Practice Center at OHSU, to conduct a systematic review of existing literature.
COVID-19 RESOURCE CENTER AND THE PSOPROTECT REGISTRY
The IPC Board of Directors has continued to monitor the pandemic’s effect on psoriasis care and, in December 2022, issued an updated statement on COVID-19. The web-based COVID-19 resource center has received over 15,000 visits to date. It includes videos featuring real-world experiences from physicians, expert opinions on published manuscripts, links to treatment guidelines, and information on the PsoProtect and PsoProtectMe COVID-19 registries. Additionally, a new COVID-19 task force was launched to recommend activities in the future years. In 2023, IPC will rename the COVID-19 Resource Center to the Infectious Disease Resource Center to include updates on all communicable diseases that affect people with psoriasis.
PUSTULAR PSORIASIS
IPC’s Pustular Psoriasis Working Group was formed to improve the understanding of this rare and life-threatening disease and conduct activities to improve patient treatment. In the past year, 69 cases from 25 countries were submitted and are under review by the working group. Preliminary plans for 2023 include: Reaching an international consensus on the classification of pustular psoriasis and related diseases; defining the objectives and addressing the feasibility of real-world data collection through international collaboration with pustular psoriasis clinical centers and laboratories; reaching a global consensus on pustular psoriasis scoring assessments; initiating intra-rater and inter-rater variability validation studies; and developing training modules on pustular scores and certification for clinical trial investigators.
