NextCure Soars Over 200% on Merger Deal with Avere Therapeutics

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.