J&J's Once-Daily Icotrokinra Pill Shows Significant Benefit in Psoriatic Arthritis as Argenx Posts Phase 3 Win in Autoimmune Myositis

Johnson and Johnson announced that ICOTYDE (icotrokinra), its once-daily targeted oral peptide that blocks the IL-23 receptor, delivered significant improvement in psoriatic arthritis disease activity among biologic-naive patients, results presented at ACR Convergence 2026 in Orlando. The late-stage data add a new indication to the drug's profile after it previously won FDA approval for plaque psoriasis, extending J&J's ambitions in immunology-driven skin and joint disease.

Separately at the same ACR Convergence meeting, Johnson and Johnson also released Phase 2 data on nipocalimab in Sjögren's disease, with new findings highlighting which symptom improvements patients value most, underscoring the company's broader push across autoimmune conditions.

Argenx presented results from the Phase 3 ALKIVIA study evaluating VYVGART Hytrulo (efgartigimod alfa and hyaluronidase-qvfc) in autoimmune myositis as a late-breaking oral presentation at ACR Convergence 2026. The global trial enrolled 175 patients and showed rapid, sustained, and clinically meaningful improvements in immune-mediated necrotizing myopathy and dermatomyositis. ALKIVIA is described as the first registrational study of an FcRn blocker in autoimmune myositis, a disease area where patients with IMNM currently have no approved treatment options.

In a separate corporate development, Medicus Pharma proposed a $135 million spinout of its SkinJect unit through a SPAC business combination, aiming to bring the dermatology asset to market as a standalone public company.