Sales expectations for UCB's bimekizumab, the fourth IL-17A/F to launch, says analyst

Belgium’s largest drugmaker UCB (Euronext Brussels: UCB) recently announced positive results from its Phase III active-controlled psoriasis study, BE SURE, in which UCB compared the investigational dual interleukin (IL)-17A/F inhibitor bimekizumab to Humira (adalimumab) in adults with moderate-to-severe psoriasis.

Analytics company GlobalData anticipates that bimekizumab will have a strong position in the psoriasis market, supported by potent efficacy data from clinical trials. However, as it will be the fourth interleukin (IL)-17 anticipated to launch in the market, bimekizumab is expected to garner sales of $254.9 million by 2027. UCB already has Cimzia (certolizumab pegol), an anti-tumor necrosis factor drug approved for psoriasis.

Vikesh Devlia, immunology analyst at GlobalData, comments: GlobalData believes that UCB is focusing heavily on the dual action of bimekizumab as a point of differentiation, which will be important due to the therapy’s late entry into the psoriasis market and in the anti-IL-17 class.”