Linda Stein Gold, MD, Director of Dermatology Clinical Research at Henry Ford Health in Detroit, MI, reviews data from the first reported head-to-head trials of icotrokinra, an investigational oral interleukin (IL)-23 blocker, vs. deucravacitinib (Sotyktu, BMS).
In the ICONIC-ADVANCE 1 and 2 trials, icotrokinra demonstrated superior skin clearance compared to placebo (Week 16) and deucravacitinib (Weeks 16 and 24). Moreover, icotrokinra demonstrated similar adverse event rates (AEs) to placebo, with no new safety signals identified. Icotrokinra AE rates were numerically lower vs. deucravacitinib through Week 24. Dr. Stein Gold presented these findings at the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) 2025 Congress in Paris, France.
Icotrokinra was jointly discovered and is being developed pursuant to the license and collaboration agreement between Protagonist and Johnson & Johnson. Johnson & Johnson retains exclusive worldwide rights to develop icotrokinra in Phase 2 clinical trials and beyond, as well as to commercialize compounds derived from the research conducted pursuant to the agreement, against a broad range of indications.
Johnson & Johnson recently submitted an application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for what could be the first-ever approval of icotrokinra for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in people aged 12 and up. Johnson & Johnson has also initiated the Phase 3 ICONIC-ASCEND study, the first-ever head-to-head study seeking to demonstrate the superiority of an oral pill, icotrokinra, compared to an injectable biologic, ustekinumab, in psoriasis.
