This can be hard to quantify, but the various treatments have different potential side effects, different rates of serious and non-serious side effects, have been on the market for different numbers of years, and have been used by different numbers of people. Some people care a great deal about these issues, and others are more focused on effectiveness. (All of these treatments have been FDA-approved, of course, meaning for certain people the expected benefits of the treatment outweigh the expected risks.)

For example, one pill helpful in psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis has been used since the 1950’s. The first “biologic” psoriasis treatments were US-approved more than 20 years ago. The most recent psoriasis treatment approval came in 2019. Similarly, some treatments have been used by more than one million people across various diseases; others have been used by just thousands of people. Some people don’t mind being early adopters of a new treatment, while other people prefer to let others go first, and let some time pass, before they are willing to try it. This is a personal preference that you can share with your physician as you select a treatment together.