Cosentyx could change the course of psoriasis, study suggests – BioPharma Dive

Dive Brief:

The psoriasis market is a fast-growing one, but competition is fierce with several blockbuster drugs approved for the condition. And new treatment types such as Cosentyx an IL-17A inhibitor look set to cut out market share for themselves just as biosimilars begin to threaten mainstays like AbbVie's Humira (adalimumab).

Novartis has already shown the superiority of Cosentyx, the first IL-17A inhibitor to be approved for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, to both Amgen's Enbrel (etanercept) and Johnson & Johnson's Stelara (ustekinumab) in head-to-head trials. This latest data for could provide Novartis with further evidence of Cosentyx's benefit.

The Swiss pharma's revenue has been hit by generic competition to Gleevec (imatinib) and Lucentis (ranibizumab) and hopes that sales of Cosentyx could help to accelerate growth. The company has projected peak sales of up to $4 billion.

So far,Cosentyxhas impressed commercially with $1.13 billion in 2016 salesits second year on the market. Paul Hudson, head of Novartis Pharmaceuticals,has saidit even may be the company's best new product launch.

But it won't be without competition. Eli Lilly has high expectations for its own IL-17A drug Taltz (ixekizumab), which is approved for the same indication. And J&J is currently moving its promising IL-23 candidate guselkumab through regulatory review.

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Cosentyx could change the course of psoriasis, study suggests - BioPharma Dive