The psoriasis market is about to get even more crowded.
Yesterday, Johnson & Johnson's
If it's approved, the drug should be able to compete well on the market because it is easier to take than other drugs -- patients could inject it every 12 weeks. J&J's current treatment for psoriasis, Remicade, is given every eight weeks and requires a two-hour office visit for an IV. Amgen's
By the time Ustekinumab is approved, the treatment choices could include another. Abbott Laboratories'
The company also shouldn't discount potential competitors behind it in the clinic, such as Incyte's
Ustekinumab is an antibody that blocks the cytokines interleukin 12 and interleukin 23, which normalize the immune response. Most anti-inflammation drugs work on several hyper-inflammation diseases -- rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease, for example -- so I wouldn't be surprised if J&J tests it in other immune-mediated inflammatory diseases in the future.