IL-6R Inhibitors & Biosimilars
6 drugsAbout IL-6R
Interleukin-6 Receptor (IL-6R) is a receptor for the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), initiating intracellular signaling cascades that contribute to immune responses. As a key protein in inflammatory signaling pathways, it is a significant target for drug development, particularly in immunology.
Human genetic studies provide strong validation for IL-6R as a therapeutic target, with variants linked to atopic eczema (score 0.87), abdominal aortic aneurysm (0.85), and coronary artery disease (0.84). Strong eQTL/pQTL signals further support its role in disease.
IL-6R is targeted by six FDA-approved drugs, including ACTEMRA, TYENNE, KEVZARA, ENSPRYNG, AVTOZMA and TOFIDENCE. These drugs are either antibodies or other biologics, and are used in immunology (4 drugs) and other therapeutic areas (2 drugs).
IL-6R Genetic Evidence Strong
IL6R has strong genetic support with a max score of 0.87 linking it to 42 diseases.
Strong genetic support suggests high probability of clinical success, warranting further investment in IL6R-targeting therapies.
Evidence Across Diseases
20 totalGWAS and other genetic studies link IL6R to 42 diseases.
🔗 Colocalization Evidence 20 strong
max H4: 1.00eQTL/pQTL signals for IL6R colocalize with these GWAS traits, providing causal evidence that gene expression changes drive disease risk.
Understanding these scores
Association Score (0-1): Combines all evidence types (genetic, literature, drugs, animal models). Higher = more evidence linking target to disease. This is a ranking heuristic, not a confidence score.
L2G Score: Open Targets uses a machine learning model (Locus-to-Gene) to predict which gene is causal at each GWAS locus. L2G=0.5 means ~50% probability of being the causal gene. Only associations with L2G > 0.05 are included.
Odds Ratio (OR): From gene burden studies (UK Biobank, AstraZeneca PheWAS). Measures how loss-of-function variants affect disease risk. OR<1 = protective (inhibiting target may help), OR>1 = risk (losing function causes disease).
Beta (β): Effect size for continuous traits. β<0 = protective, β>0 = risk.
Clinical Translation (~1.8x): Based on Nelson et al. 2015: drug targets with genetic evidence have ~2x higher success rates in clinical trials. We estimate: Strong support (score ≥0.7) → ~1.8x, Moderate (0.3-0.7) → ~1.3x, Weak → baseline.
Colocalization (H4): Tests whether a GWAS signal and an eQTL/pQTL signal share the same causal variant. H4 is the posterior probability that both traits are associated AND share a causal variant. H4 > 0.8 = strong evidence that gene expression/protein levels drive disease risk. This links genetic variation → gene expression → disease, supporting the target-disease connection.
Top IL-6R Drugs
Five companies have approved IL-6R targeting drugs, including Roche, Fresenius Kabi and Sanofi.
The presence of multiple established players indicates a competitive market, requiring a strong value proposition for new entrants.
IL-6R Drug Modality Landscape
Modalities
Routes of Administration
IL-6R is exclusively targeted by antibodies, suggesting it may be a cell-surface or secreted protein.
Consider novel modalities beyond antibodies and biologics to differentiate from existing IL-6R targeting therapies.
📈 Modality Evolution
Antibodies pioneered IL-6R targeting (2010), with other biologics entering more recently (2023).
IL-6R Clinical Trials 409 trials
Phase 1-4 trials started in 2008 or later that test an FDA-approved drug acting on IL-6R. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov. How we count
Completion by Phase
| Phase | Total | Completed | Stopped | Active | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 109 | 47 | 18 | 44 | 72% |
| Phase 2 | 125 | 50 | 25 | 48 | 67% |
| Phase 3 | 126 | 92 | 11 | 23 | 89% |
| Phase 4 | 49 | 32 | 9 | 8 | 78% |
Top Sponsors
By Modality
Top Conditions
Phase 3 Readout Calendar Pro
7 Phase 3 trials testing approved IL-6R drugs across all sponsors.
Coverage: trials whose intervention is an approved drug targeting IL-6R. Pre-approval candidates with development codes (e.g. AZD0901, MK-7240) are not yet linked. Anchored on CT.gov primary completion date.
IL-6R Drug Approval Timeline (2010 - 2025)
The first IL-6R targeting drug was approved in 2010, with the most recent approval in 2025.
The continued approvals suggest sustained interest in IL-6R as a target, but also increasing market saturation.
Pro Intelligence Preview
Deep insights for drug target analysis
Competitive Landscape
- • 5 companies competing
- • Market share by company
Full Drug Portfolio
- • All 6 approved drugs
- • Approval dates & indications
Genetic Validation
- • Full genetic evidence table
- • Effect sizes & directions
Approval Timeline
- • Full 6-drug timeline
- • First-of-modality markers
Clinical Trials Analysis
- • Sponsors: 157 (24 companies)
- • Completion rates by condition
Full summary • All drugs • Genetic evidence • Trials • Timeline
How We Count Trials
- Trials: phase 1-4 interventional trials on ClinicalTrials.gov that started in 2008 or later and test an FDA-approved drug acting on IL-6R. A trial counts if an approved drug acting on IL-6R is in any arm, including as a comparator, and a trial that tests two such drugs counts once. Trials that test only unapproved drugs are not counted. A trial listed as phase 1/2 counts as phase 1, and phase 2/3 as phase 2.
- Active: recruiting, not yet recruiting, enrolling by invitation, or active and no longer recruiting.
- Completion rate: of the trials that have ended, the share marked Completed rather than Terminated or Withdrawn. Completed means the trial ended as planned; it does not mean the drug worked. Suspended trials are not counted as ended.
- Stopped: terminated or withdrawn. Trials stop for many reasons, including slow enrolment and business decisions, not only safety or efficacy.
- Sponsors: the lead sponsor of each trial. Companies are the sponsors ClinicalTrials.gov classes as industry; the rest are universities, hospitals, cooperative groups, government bodies and individuals.