Guselkumab could offer hope for psoriatic arthritis patients resistant to TNF inhibitors

Janssen continues to strengthen the case that its interleukin-23 inhibitor TREMFYA (guselkumab) offers promise to many patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA).

The company’s phase 3b COSMOS clinical trial involving 189 patients with active PsA and an inadequate response to one to two previous tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors, guselkumab showed sustained improvements in measures of minimal disease activity (MDA) over 48 weeks of treatment. TNF inhibitors are a class of medications that target and suppress the overproduction of the inflammatory protein TNF, making them a common treatment option for autoimmune diseases such as PsA.

The IL-23 inhibitor guselkumab provides a treatment alternative, recording sustained improvements in measures of minimal disease activity (MDA) over 48 weeks of treatment. In particular, 60 to 80% of patients achieved MDA across various measures.

Beyond guselkumab, another approved IL-23 inhibitor for the treatment of psori…

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The 50 best-selling pharmaceuticals of 2022: COVID-19 vaccines poised to take a step back

[sizsus/Adobe Stock]

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the best-selling pharmaceuticals, leading to shifts in the list with Pfizer and BioNTech’s Comirnaty surpassing AbbVie’s Humira for the No. 1 spot in 2021. That momentum continued in 2022, with Pfizer and BioNTech jointly raking in $59.1 billion in revenue from the sales of the COVID-19 vaccine. Although Comirnaty maintained its position as the best-selling pharmaceutical of 2022, it experienced a roughly 5% drop in sales compared to the previous year.

As the best-selling pharmaceuticals of 2022 demonstrate, signs are emerging that the reign of COVID-19 vaccines and  other therapies appears to be slipping.. The two companies — and Moderna — plan on hiking prices to address the weakening demand.

Humira: The second best-selling pharmaceutical of 2022 looking strong

Meanwhile, the heavyweight tumor necrosis factor (TNF) block…

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