A new drug designed to help ease the symptoms of psoriasis has begun phase II clinical trials in the US, it has been announced.

Provectus Pharmaceuticals said the tests of its topical PH-10 medicine had launched at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and predicted that it would take nine months for the study to be complete.

Designed to evaluate the performance of the drug when used twice a week for 12 weeks, 25 patients with the condition will be recruited to take part and have their response to the treatment measured for a total of 16 weeks.

Craig Dees, the chief executive officer of Provectus, said that if the trials reveal positive results, the drug could help "a large underserved market in which current, highly expensive treatments may be efficacious but have a number of side effects".

Psoriasis occurs when the skin cells renew themselves too quickly, resulting in red, irritated and scaly patches appearing on the body.

Masters can obtain drugs still undergoing clinical trials through its named patient supply programme and has 20 years of experience in providing medicines to patients who have an unmet medical need.