New Psoriasis Challenger Emerges: Could Once-Weekly Oral IL-23 Therapy Redefine Patient Convenience?
The psoriasis treatment landscape continues to evolve at pace, with the latest industry news highlighting growing competition in the increasingly important IL-23 space.
Avere Therapeutics, a newly formed immunology-focused biotech led by former Akero Therapeutics executives, has announced plans to advance AVR-001, a potentially first-in-class once-weekly oral IL-23 therapy for psoriasis. The company is set to go public through a reverse merger with NextCure and has secured significant backing to progress clinical development.
A New Generation of Oral Therapies
For years, injectable biologics such as AbbVie's Skyrizi and Johnson & Johnson's Tremfya have set the standard in psoriasis treatment. More recently, the industry has shifted attention toward oral alternatives that could offer patients greater convenience without compromising efficacy.
Avere is aiming to take this trend a step further. While recently approved oral IL-23 therapies have focused on daily dosing, AVR-001 is being developed as a once-weekly treatment, creating the potential for a differentiated patient experience if clinical outcomes meet expectations.
The Growing Influence of Chinese Innovation
The program was licensed from Hansoh Pharma, further reinforcing China's growing role as a source of innovative dermatology and immunology assets. The agreement highlights an ongoing industry trend in which Western biotechs are increasingly turning to Chinese developers to strengthen pipelines and accelerate innovation.
Hansoh has already initiated Phase 2b studies in China, while Avere is preparing U.S. development plans and intends to launch additional global trials in the coming years.
What Does This Mean for Dermatology Drug Developers?
As competition intensifies across the psoriasis market, developers are no longer focused solely on efficacy. Dosing convenience, patient adherence, quality-of-life improvements, and differentiation from established biologics are becoming critical drivers of development strategy.
The emergence of once-weekly oral therapies raises important questions for the industry:
- Will convenience become a key competitive advantage in psoriasis treatment?
- How will oral IL-23 therapies compete with established biologics?
- What level of efficacy will be required to shift prescribing behaviour?
- Could novel dosing approaches unlock new opportunities across broader inflammatory diseases?
Continue the Conversation at the 10th Dermatology Drug Development Summit
These are exactly the types of questions that will shape discussions at the 10th Dermatology Drug Development Summit this November.
As the dermatology community explores the next generation of treatments across psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, alopecia areata, hidradenitis suppurativa, and other immune-mediated skin diseases, the Summit will bring together biopharma leaders to discuss emerging therapeutic targets, clinical differentiation strategies, patient-centric drug development, and the future of dermatology innovation.
Join industry experts this November to explore the trends, technologies, and treatment strategies driving the next decade of dermatology drug development.
Explore the Agenda to Discover the Translational to Access Priorities Shaping Dermatology R&D in 2026
Explore a focused agenda of scientific case studies, expert panels and interactive discussions designed to help you discover novel targets, improve translational confidence, optimize clinical development, differentiate therapies and accelerate the next generation of dermatology innovation across both common and rare inflammatory skin diseases.
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