Skyrizi, a key drug in AbbVies post-Humira future, has added another feather to its cap.

On Tuesday, the IL-23 inhibitor emerged superior in a head-to-head327-patient trial against Novartis dominant Cosentyx in patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.

Data showed Skyrizi induced significantly higher rates of skin clearance compared to Cosentyx, meeting the primary goal of superiority with at least a 90% improvement from baseline in the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI 90) at week 52. Overall, 87% of Skyrizi-treated patients hit PASI 90, versus 57% of Cosentyx-treated patients at the one year mark.

The other main goal of non-inferiority at week 16 74% of Skyrizi patients achieved PASI 90 compared to 66% of Cosentyx patients was also met. Skyrizi also eclipsed Cosentyx on all secondary endpoints, including PASI 100, and PASI 75.

In the fall of 2017, Skyrizi was evaluated against J&Js Stelara and its own Humira in a psoriasis study and emerged victorious, handsomely outpacing the rival drugs in clearing psoriasis.

These head-to-head studies are key to establishing Skyrizis position in a crowded market, which includes Humira, Novartis anti-IL17 Cosentyx, J&Js anti-IL23 Tremfya, anti-IL12/23 Stelara, as well as Lillys anti-IL17 Taltz.

Skyrizi is not the first pure IL-23 inhibitor to be approved Tremfya was approved in 2017 and Ilumya in 2018. But the AbbVie drug has a dosing advantage over Tremfya it is administered every 12 weeks, versus once every two months for Tremfya, SVB Leerinks Geoffrey Porges said on Wednesday, noting that other psoriasis biologics in addition to the oral Otezla generated a combined $11.1 billion in 2018 sales.

This does not include sales of anti-TNFs in psoriasis, which should decrease as patients move to these new, more efficacious therapies. These products also all achieved $500 million $1 billion in the second year of launch, which is likely to also be achieved by Skyrizi, SVB Leerinks Geoffrey Porges wrote in a note last year.

Overall biologics are still used in only 30% of the moderate to severe psoriasis population, (per JNJ in 2017), and AbbVies Skyrizi should benefit from both best-in-category efficacy (i.e. market share gains) and the continued rapid market expansion.

Skyrizi was approved in April 2019. AbbVie paid Boehringer Ingelheim $595 million upfront to license rights to the drug, known chemically as risankizumab, in early 2016.Evaluate has pegged Skyrizi as the number 3 blockbuster on its list of heavyweight drugs launched in 2019, estimating the drug could earn more than $2 billion in 2024 a far cry from AbbVies homegrown estimate of $4 billion to $5 billion in peak sales. Porges has forecast adjusted peak annual sales of $3 billion.

Last August, Lillys Taltz beat J&Js Tremfya in a head-to-head psoriasis study. In 2018, J&J ran its own head-to-head psoriasis trial against Cosentyx and came out with data that showed Tremfya superseded Novartis dominant rival.

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AbbVie's Skyrizi hangs Novartis' Cosentyx out to dry in head-to-head psoriasis study - Endpoints News