Tremfya gets U.S. approval as first fully subcutaneous IL-23 treatment for ulcerative colitis

 TREMFYA® offers the flexibility of self-administration from the start of treatment, building on the prior approval of subcutaneous induction in Crohn's disease

TREMFYA® achieved significant rates of clinical remission and endoscopic improvement versus placebo at Week 12 with a subcutaneous induction regimen, consistent with IV induction

Johnson & Johnson is initiating a head-to-head study seeking to demonstrate the superiority of TREMFYA® vs. Skyrizi® (risankizumab) in Crohn's disease, based on the confidence in the clinical profile

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a subcutaneous (SC) induction regimen of TREMFYA® (guselkumab) for the treatment of adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC). With this approval, TREMFYA® is the first and only IL-23 inhibitor to offer both SC and intravenous (IV) induction options for the treatment of UC and Crohn's disease (CD), which combined affect approximately three million Americans.1 TREMFYA® is the first and only approved fully-human, dual-acting monoclonal antibody that blocks IL-23 while also binding to CD64, a receptor on cells that produce IL-23. IL-23 is a cytokine secreted by activated monocyte/macrophages and dendritic cells that is known to be a driver of immune-mediated diseases including UC. Findings are based on in vitro studies.2-6

"Historically, IL-23 inhibitors have required IV infusions at the start of therapy, which can create barriers to starting treatment or be burdensome for some patients and clinicians," said David T. Rubin, MD, Director, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, University of Chicago Medicine and study investigator. "With today's approval, UC patients and providers now have the choice of starting TREMFYA with a self-administered subcutaneous injection, with the same efficacy and safety that were established with IV induction in the prior clinical trials and subsequently seen in our real-world practice."

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