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AbbVie announced the presentation of 22 scientific abstracts from its inflammatory bowel disease portfolio at the American College of Gastroenterology 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, held Oct. 9-14. Newly unveiled Phase 3 AFFIRM results showed subcutaneous SKYRIZI, or risankizumab-rzaa, achieved significantly higher rates of clinical remission and endoscopic response versus placebo at Week 12 in advanced therapy-naive Crohn's disease patients, with all endpoints remaining numerically higher through Week 24 among clinical responders. An anchored matching-adjusted indirect comparison found subcutaneous risankizumab achieved significantly higher rates of endoscopic response versus guselkumab during induction in patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease. In the Phase 3 FORTIFY open-label extension, 74.5% of patients with fistulizing Crohn's disease achieved no draining fistulas after five years of risankizumab treatment, while the SEQUENCE open-label extension demonstrated durable clinical and endoscopic efficacy through 148 weeks in patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease following anti-TNF failure. Real-world data from the Veterans Affairs health system showed 93.3% of patients with fistulizing disease and 76.9% of patients with stricturing disease who remained on treatment achieved clinical remission and corticosteroid-free remission with RINVOQ, or upadacitinib, and Department of Defense data showed that at six months 57% of patients with isolated ileal Crohn's disease achieved clinical remission, 58% achieved endoscopic response and 53.6% achieved endoscopic remission.

Johnson & Johnson said new long-term phase 3 data show its oral drug Icotyde, also known as icotrokinra, maintained high levels of skin clearance in plaque psoriasis patients after more than two years of treatment. In the placebo-controlled ICONIC-LEAD study, at least 72% of patients on the oral IL-23 receptor agonist achieved a Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score of 90, and at least 70% achieved clear or almost clear skin on the Investigator's Global Assessment 0/1 scale, from week 64 through week 112. Complete skin clearance also continued over that period, with at least 44% of Icotyde patients reaching PASI 100 and at least 46% achieving IGA 0, meaning clear skin. Improvements in itch were also seen from week 64 through week 112.

An exploratory analysis of Eli Lilly's ongoing phase 3b TOGETHER-PsO trial indicates that combining Taltz, or ixekizumab, with Zepbound, or tirzepatide, may improve both psoriasis and metabolic outcomes compared with Taltz alone. The trial enrolled patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis who were obese or overweight and who had at least one additional weight-related comorbid condition, randomizing them to receive Taltz plus Zepbound or Taltz alone. At week 36, participants who took the two treatments together saw better changes in psoriasis-specific, immune, and metabolic biomarkers than those in the Taltz monotherapy group, with changes noted in more psoriasis disease-associated and metabolic biomarkers. The trial's primary endpoint is the proportion of participants achieving both Psoriasis Area and Severity Index 100 and at least 10% weight reduction at week 36. Lilly noted that in the US, approximately 61% of individuals with psoriasis also have obesity or are overweight with at least one weight-related comorbidity.