The FDA has approved AbbVie’s new psoriasis treatment, Skyrizi. The approval is a welcome relief to the company, which is facing increasing patent pressure on its crown jewel drug, Humira.
Although the market for psoriasis treatments has become increasingly crowded in recent years, AbbVie says Skyrizi, an IL-23 inhibitor, will have a unique advantage because it is administered as an injection just four times a year. By contrast, its chief competitor in the market, Tremfya, must be administered every two months.
Skyrizi is also in trials as a treatment for Crohn’s disease, psoriatic arthritis and ulcerative colitis. AbbVie predicts that peak sales for Skyrizi could reach $4 billion to $5 billion.
The drug has already been approved for plaque psoriasis in Canada and Japan and will be rolled out in the U.S. in May.
Read the full Reuters report.
