Pathway to biomarker discovery in psoriatic arthritis

Introduction: Biomarkers may help influence long-term outcomes of psoriatic disease by improving the objective assessment of the presence and severity of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and by guiding treatment selection. However, there are no validated biomarkers for PsA. Areas covered: Beginning with a brief overview of the clinical features of PsA and concepts about biomarkers and risk prediction in medicine, this narrative review covers the recent developments in the field of PsA biomarker research including biomarkers for identifying patients with psoriasis who are at high risk for developing PsA, for PsA diagnosis, joint damage, treatment response, and disease activity. The limitations of current research and potential solutions for the near future are discussed. Expert opinion: Although some progress is being made, a concerted international collaborative effort by all stakeholder - patients and advocacy organizations, clinicians, researchers, industry partners, and regulatory agencies with adequate funding ideally from a private-public partnership will be required such that robust biomarkers for this heterogeneous disease are brought to market. Use of multi-omic approaches with innovative data collection and analytic technologies is beginning and in conjunction with novel targeted therapies portend a bright future for patients with psoriatic disease.