Icotyde psoriasis pill from J&J rivals Tremfya Skyrizi for IL-23 shots

Johnson and Johnson The US Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved its once-daily psoriasis pill, the first oral option to rival the best-selling shots.

The FDA approved a pill, icotide, to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, an autoimmune condition that causes rough patches of skin. Patients usually begin treatment with topical medications.

If those don’t work, they turn to pills or shots. J&J sees Icotyde becoming a first-line systemic treatment for psoriasis between topical and shots.

Drug manufacturers are developing more advanced drugs than the standard stuff, turning psoriasis into a more competitive space. Icotyde targets the same IL-23 receptor as J&J’s Tremfya and other best-selling shots. AbbVieSkyrizi offers patients an oral alternative to some of the most sophisticated and expensive drugs on the market.

“To be able to have something relatively simple that has that level of clearance, a reliable safety profile and in a simple pill, we think is revolutionary,” said Jennifer Taubert, president of J&J Innovative Medicine.

J&J estimates that about 8 million people in the US have plaque psoriasis, and 75% do not progress to topical shots for reasons such as fear of needles. Taubert sees Icotyde as appealing to those patients.

“We believe the type of profile that icotide has in a simple, once-daily oral pill is going to be a complete game changer for patients,” Taubert said.

J&J has not announced how much Icotide costs beyond saying the company helps people pay for the drug. Competing shots Tremfya and Skyrizi cost about $100,000 a year.

J&J sees Icotide’s peak annual sales surpassing $5 billion once it is approved for other autoimmune conditions. It is testing the drug for psoriatic arthritis, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.

J&J shares slipped a quarter of a percent on Wednesday while shares of Skyrizi-maker AbbVie fell more than 4%. The leader is the therapistThe biotech company that developed Icotyde with J&J was doing business about flat.