Nearly, 2-3% of the global population suffers from psoriasis which is one of the most common autoimmune diseases. Although there are several forms of the disease, the most common is plaque psoriasis, which affects over 80% of patients. Due to the chronic, recurrent nature of psoriasis, patients are treated with different types of drugs over the course of the disease. The current psoriasis landscape consists of a broad range of products. These products consist of both non-biologic and biologic products.
Another drug, by the name of Inflectra, was also approved by the USFDA in 2016. This drug is being manufactured by Celltrion, Inc. Inflectra is a biosimilar to Janssen Biotech, Inc.’s Remicade (infliximab), which was originally licensed in 1998. This drug is approved for multiple indications one of which is chronic severe plaque psoriasis. Inflectra is administered by intravenous infusion. This is the second biosimilar to be approved by the FDA.
Similarly, Novartis Healthcare Private Limited launched a drug, Scapho 150 mg, in India for the treatment of psoriasis. Scapho is a fully human monoclonal antibody and it is the first IL-17A inhibitor to be approved in India. This drug is an injectable medicine. It is known by the name of Cosentyx in the US and Europe. The launch of all these drugs in the global market is likely to propel the growth of the psoriasis drugs market.