New psoriasis therapies go head-to-head with existing drugs

Three promising new drug classes are heating up the market for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis therapeutics, according to a new analysis from market research group Frost & Sullivan.

The company says the market welcomes three new drug classes of interleukin-17(IL-17) inhibitors, a janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, and a phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE-4) inhibitor, the last two being oral therapies, which add to the options available to patients and physicians. For an indication historically under-served by novel therapies, the increasingly competitive pipeline is also raising the bar for new entrants, it adds. The pipeline in this indication has at least 37 investigational biologic and small-molecule drugs in various stages of development. The particularly competitive classes include IL-17 with three candidates in the late stages development and anti-interleukin-23 (IL-23), with five candidates in various stages of development.

A Frost & Sullivan Life Sciences analyst said: “The discovery of the role of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alfa) in inflammatory diseases led to the commercial launch of several popular TNF blockers. These highly effective therapies for severe cases of plaque psoriasis are being upstaged by several new drug classes with improved efficacy, safety and tolerability.”