Health Canada has approved Eli Lilly’s Taltz (ixekizumab) for the treatment of adults with nonradiographic axial spondyloarthritis who are unable to use conventional therapy.

This marks the drug’s fourth approval in Canada. It was approved for the treatment of plaque psoriasis in 2016, psoriatic arthritis in 2018 and ankylosing spondylitis earlier this year.

The latest approval was supported by results from a phase 3 study that showed the drug reduced pain and inflammation by 35 percent at week 16 vs. 19 percent for patients given a placebo.