UK approves J&J's oral psoriasis pill

Oct 23 — Britain's medicines regulator on Friday approved Johnson & Johnson's ​daily pill for adults and teenagers with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, a skin condition ‌causing red, scaly and often itchy or painful patches.

Here are ⁠some details:

• The Medicines ​and Healthcare products Regulatory ⁠Agency (MHRA) approved the oral drug Icotyde for ‌people aged 12 ‌and older who weigh at least 40 ⁠kg

• The approval was ⁠based on four late-stage trials in 2,500 people with the disease, including 72 teenagers aged 12 to under 18

• In all four studies, patients who took the drug saw ‌better results after 16 ​weeks than those given a placebo, the regulator said

• Icotyde was approved in the US earlier this year for the same condition — its first approved indication

• The drug is made in collaboration with Protagonist Therapeutics

• J&J is ​also studying the drug, chemically known as icotrokinra, ‌for ulcerative ‌colitis, ⁠psoriatic arthritis and Crohn's disease

• The company expects the treatment to bring in $5 billion in peak sales across multiple indications

• The drug competes with ‌established psoriasis treatments ​such as Bristol Myers ‌Squibb's Sotyktu and ⁠AbbVie's blockbuster ​Skyrizi

(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay ​Kishore)

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