Johnson & Johnson announced on Monday, September 21, 2026 that the European Commission granted marketing authorization for ICOTYDE (icotrokinra) for adults and adolescents aged 12 and older weighing at least 40 kg with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who are candidates for systemic therapy. J&J calls icotrokinra the first targeted oral peptide that precisely blocks the IL-23 receptor; it was jointly discovered and is being developed under J&J's license and collaboration agreement with Protagonist Therapeutics. The approval rests on the ICONIC program of four Phase 3 studies in about 2,500 patients (ICONIC-LEAD, ICONIC-TOTAL, ICONIC-ADVANCE 1 and 2). In the head-to-head studies, about 70% of patients on icotrokinra reached clear or almost clear skin (IGA 0/1) and 55% reached PASI 90 at week 16. Patients take one pill once daily with water on waking, at least 30 minutes before eating.
Orbis Medicines, based in Copenhagen and Lausanne, announced on Thursday, September 17, 2026 a multi-target discovery and license agreement with Novo to design oral macrocycle drugs for undisclosed cardiometabolic targets. Orbis can receive up to $1.4 billion in upfront and development and commercial milestone payments plus tiered royalties, and Novo will make a strategic investment of undisclosed size. The work uses Orbis's nGen platform, which combines generative AI, high-throughput synthesis, and a multi-parameter optimization engine trained on the company's experimental macrocycle data. Orbis chief executive Morten Graugaard said its synthetic macrocycles have reached up to 18% oral bioavailability in preclinical studies. Orbis launched in January 2025 with a €90 million (about $93 million) Series A led by NEA, with Lilly Ventures, Forbion, and Novo Holdings among its investors.
Zealand Pharma CEO Adam Steensberg spoke on Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at the Morgan Stanley 24th Annual Global Healthcare Conference, where he described the company's Metabolic Frontier 2030 ambition, launched the previous December: five products on the market and 10 clinical programs by 2030. He said petrelintide, Zealand's long-acting amylin analog, produced double-digit weight loss with placebo-like tolerability in the Phase 2 ZUPREME-1 trial and is moving into Phase 3 with Roche. Under the agreement the companies announced on March 12, 2025, Roche paid $1.65 billion upfront, the deal's total potential value is up to $5.3 billion, and profits on petrelintide and the petrelintide/CT-388 combination are shared 50/50 in the U.S. and Europe. Steensberg also discussed survodutide, partnered with Boehringer Ingelheim, and glepaglutide for short bowel syndrome.
Circle Pharma announced on Wednesday, September 16, 2026 an oversubscribed $92.5 million Series E financing led by The Column Group, with participation from Nextech Invest, RA Capital Management, Euclidean Capital, and Eli Lilly and Company. The South San Francisco company said the money will take CID-165, which it describes as a first-in-class oral macrocyclic cyclin D1 RxL inhibitor, through early clinical development in ER-positive breast cancer and support its broader pipeline of cyclin-targeted macrocycles. Circle expects CID-165 to enter clinical development in the first quarter of 2027.