Since then, this drug class has grown, changing the treatment landscape for psoriasis by helping more people find effective treatment and achieve clearer skin. In fact, you may have seen biologics for psoriasis advertised on TV or online or heard about them from someone else who has psoriasis.

If so, you probably have questions about how biologics work, what it’s like to take one (as most come in injectable form), and more. Learning as much as you can on your own will prepare you for an informed discussion with your doctor.

On the surface, psoriasis is a skin disease, but plaques and other symptoms are caused by inflammation inside the body. So, the best way to treat moderate to severe psoriasis is often with systemic medications that block the immune system’s inflammatory response.

Why does your body create this inflammation? It’s part of your immune system’s natural defense against foreign invaders that might make you sick. With psoriasis, your immune system is overactive and causes excess inflammation, which activates skin cells to multiply too fast, leading to plaques on your skin.

In other words, psoriasis is an autoimmune condition in which your immune system gets “angry” at your skin, says Joshua Zeichner, MD, the director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

How Biologics Treat Psoriasis From the Inside Out

Biologic medications are created using living cells that are similar to molecules in your immune system. They work within the body to target inflammation and psoriasis plaques at the source.

Biologics differ from other common psoriasis treatments in two ways:

1. Rather than treating existing plaques (as topical therapies do), biologics get to the root of psoriasis by blocking the inflammatory process in your body before it even starts.
2. Unlike traditional systemic therapies, which broadly suppress the immune system, biologics target specific molecules linked to psoriasis.

If you’re struggling to get your psoriasis symptoms under control, there’s good news. Today, there are more psoriasis therapies than ever before, and a dermatologist can help you find the right treatment — or combination of treatments — to meet your particular needs.

Before you try biologics, your doctor may suggest the following treatments.

• Topicals: Topicals include topical corticosteroids, vitamin D analogues, anthralin, topical retinoids (vitamin A derivatives), salicylic acid, coal tar, and moisturizers. These creams and ointments are applied to the affected skin, so they work only on the surface, to treat the outward symptoms of psoriasis, but do not affect inflammation within the body.
• Phototherapy (light therapy) and excimer laser: These therapies use natural light, artificial ultraviolet A light, or ultraviolet B light to slow skin cell growth and reduce inflammation.
• Traditional systemics: Medications such as methotrexate and cyclosporine suppress the immune system on a broad level to reduce inflammation and prevent psoriasis symptoms and progression. They can be used alone or in combination with a biologic to treat psoriasis.

Treatment depends on your preferences and how severe your psoriasis is, Zeichner says. “In mild cases, topical creams may do the trick,” he says, “but if larger body surfaces are involved, then systemic medications, such as biologics, may be necessary.”