Spherix Global Insights

June 12, 2018

US Dermatologists Report Significant Growth of Next-Generation Psoriasis Biologics—Novartis’ Cosentyx, Eli Lilly’s Taltz, and Janssen’s Tremfya

Growth of the IL-17 inhibitors and Tremfya has been at the expense of the established TNF inhibitors and Janssen’s own Stelara.

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EXTON, Pa., June 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Spherix Global Insights’ second quarter update of RealTime Dynamix™: Psoriasis (US) reveals significant changes afoot in the current psoriasis biologic landscape. Year-over-year analysis indicates continued erosion of the established agents, such as AbbVie’s Humira, Amgen’s Enbrel, and Janssen’s Stelara, in favor of newer biologic entrants with alternate mechanisms of action (MOA). Furthermore, dermatologists’ (n=97) reports of the last five psoriasis biologic/small molecule prescriptions written suggest the declines in tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and Stelara use are not yet over.

With the psoriasis armamentarium being regularly refreshed, the alternate MOA playing field is becoming much more competitive. Indeed, since Taltz entered the psoriasis market in 2016, Cosentyx has always garnered significantly more biologic brand share than the second-to-market IL-17. While Cosentyx still has a directional edge over Taltz in the current quarter, Q2 2018 is the first time the difference in share between the two brands has not reached statistical significance. Additionally, Tremfya appears to be winning over the hearts (and prescription pads) of US dermatologists, and with less than one year on the market, has taken the lead as the most preferred alternate MOA for the treatment of psoriasis, surpassing Cosentyx, Taltz, and Stelara.

Tremfya is consistently lauded for its efficacy in psoriasis, as well as its unique and targeted IL-23 MOA that dermatologists believe provides a safety and efficacy profile unparalleled by other current options. Consistent with prior reports, Janssen has also succeeded in gaining considerable share in the biologic-naïve, first-line position, a success largely attributed to their patient access program, Janssen CarePath. While insurance and cost issues continue to be the leading barriers to increased use, Tremfya appears poised for sustained near-term growth, coming from both additional adopters and expanding use among current prescribers.

Future share projections reveal the psoriasis market is set to continue evolving. Six-month brand share projections reveal further declines in TNF use and significant gains for all alternate MOA biologics, except for Stelara which is projected to significantly decline. One event that could cause further disruption of this market segment would be the launch of Sun Pharma’s IL-23 inhibitor, Ilumya, which gained FDA approval in March 2018 but is not yet commercially available. Dermatologists project that Ilumya’s entry to the US psoriasis market could result in further eroding of Humira and Stelara, halting Cosentyx growth and limiting projected Tremfya increases. Despite these potential impacts of Ilumya, over one-tenth of dermatologists report that they have no intentions of ever prescribing the second-to-market IL-23 inhibitor, largely because they are not familiar with it and feel they already have better alternative options available.

Other factors that will influence the near-term psoriasis market include additional market entrants as well as the robust pipeline. Though dermatologists’ familiarity is greatest with UCB’s Cimzia (which gained approval after the fielding of this report), respondents are most excited about AbbVie’s risankizumab (which AbbVie submitted a biologic license application to the FDA for in April). Even though risankizumab would be the third IL-23 inhibitor on the US market if approved, the greatest number of dermatologists selected it as the agent they would most like to see gain approval for the treatment of psoriasis, beating out UCB’s Cimzia and bimekizumab, as well as Lilly’s mirikizumab.

The RealTime Dynamix™: Psoriasis US report series provides a quarterly detailed and timely look at current and future trends in the psoriasis market and the effects of the future shifting landscape. The series tracks the evolution of the market, provides a deep dive on launch effectiveness, and highlights opportunities for pipeline agents.

About Spherix Global Insights
Spherix Global Insights is an independent business intelligence and market research company, specializing in renal, autoimmune, neurologic and rare disease markets. Our aim is to apply our commercial experience and unique relationships within core specialty markets to translate data into insight, enabling our clients to make smarter business decisions.

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For more information contact:
Lynn Price, Immunology Franchise Head
Email: [email protected]
www.spherixglobalinsights.com

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