Psoriasis coverage on this site centers on Icotyde (icotrokinra), a once-daily pill from Johnson & Johnson and Protagonist Therapeutics. It is a peptide that blocks the receptor for IL-23, an immune signal that drives psoriasis; most other drugs aimed at that pathway are injected antibodies. The FDA approved it on March 18, 2026 for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in people aged 12 and older, and the European Commission followed on September 21, 2026.
In the four Phase 3 trials behind the approval, 57% to 71% of patients on the drug had clear or almost clear skin at week 16, with the highest rates in two trials against the pill Sotyktu. ICONIC-TOTAL, a Phase 3 trial in 311 people with psoriasis on the scalp, genitals, hands, or feet, reported in October 2026 that the share on the drug with clear or almost clear skin had reached 70% at two years.
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Johnson & Johnson said on October 9, 2026, at the Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference, that in the Phase 3 ICONIC-LEAD trial of its oral IL-23 receptor-blocking peptide Icotyde (icotrokinra) in 684 people aged 12 and older with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, at least 70% of treated patients had clear or almost clear skin, at least 44% had completely clear skin by PASI 100, and at least 72% reached PASI 90 at week 112. Among people who reached PASI 90, stopped the drug at week 24, and later restarted it, 85% regained that response within 24 weeks. The release does not say how patients who left the study were counted, and J&J reported no new safety signals.
Johnson & Johnson reported two-year results on Friday, October 2, 2026, at the EADV Congress in Vienna from the Phase 3 ICONIC-TOTAL trial of Icotyde (icotrokinra), a once-daily oral peptide that blocks the IL-23 receptor, in 311 people aged 12 and older with psoriasis on the scalp, genitals, hands, or feet (208 on icotrokinra and 103 on placebo, who switched to the drug at week 16). Among icotrokinra-treated patients, the share with clear or almost clear skin rose from 57% at week 16 to 70% at week 112, and 60% of those with scalp psoriasis, 89% with genital psoriasis, and 63% with hand or foot psoriasis had complete clearance at those sites. Missing data after week 52 were handled with multiple imputation, and J&J reported no new safety signals.
One-year Phase 3 data at AAD 2026 show ICOTYDE (icotrokinra) achieves 49% complete clearance at Week 52, with nearly 60% in adolescents. No new safety signals.
J&J's icotrokinra (Icotyde) approved for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis; in the two head-to-head trials against the pill deucravacitinib (Sotyktu), about 70% of patients achieved clear or almost clear skin by week 16.