IL17A Inhibitors
4 drugsAbout IL17A
Interleukin-17A (IL17A) is a cytokine that mediates cell communication and promotes inflammation by binding to its receptor, IL-17RA. This signaling triggers downstream pathways involved in inflammatory responses, making it a key target in immunology.
IL17A is therapeutically relevant for autoimmune diseases due to its inflammatory role, though genetic evidence linking IL17A to specific diseases is weak (max score 0.23). The strongest genetic associations are with abruptio placentae (0.23), COVID-19 (0.21), and asthma (0.03).
Four FDA-approved drugs target IL17A, including COSENTYX, SILIQ, BIMZELX, and TALTZ. These drugs are primarily antibodies (3 drugs) and other biologics (1 drug) developed by Novartis, VALEANT LUXEMBOURG, UCB INC, and Eli Lilly.
IL17A Genetic Evidence
Genetic evidence for IL17A's role in disease is weak, with a maximum score of 0.23.
Low genetic support suggests that clinical trials should enrich for patients with high IL-17A expression.
Evidence Across Diseases
3 totalGWAS and other genetic studies link IL17A to 3 diseases.
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 IL17A Drugs
Four companies have approved drugs targeting IL17A: Novartis, VALEANT LUXEMBOURG, UCB INC, and Eli Lilly.
The limited number of players indicates relatively high barriers to entry in the IL17A space.
| Drug | Company | Approved | Indications |
|---|---|---|---|
| SILIQ | VALEANT LUXEMBOURG | 2017 | 1 |
IL17A Drug Modality Landscape
Modalities
Routes of Administration
IL17A is exclusively targeted by antibodies, suggesting it may be a cell-surface or secreted protein.
The dominance of antibodies suggests an opportunity for small molecule IL17A inhibitors.
📈 Modality Evolution
Antibodies pioneered IL17A targeting (2015), with other biologics entering more recently (2023).
IL17A Clinical Trials 268 trials
Phase 1-4 trials started in 2008 or later that test an FDA-approved drug acting on IL17A. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov. How we count
Completion by Phase
| Phase | Total | Completed | Stopped | Active | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 34 | 25 | 2 | 7 | 93% |
| Phase 2 | 52 | 35 | 10 | 7 | 78% |
| Phase 3 | 136 | 109 | 16 | 11 | 87% |
| Phase 4 | 46 | 28 | 3 | 15 | 90% |
Top Sponsors
By Modality
Top Conditions
Phase 3 Readout Calendar Pro
3 Phase 3 trials testing approved IL17A drugs across all sponsors.
Coverage: trials whose intervention is an approved drug targeting IL17A. Pre-approval candidates with development codes (e.g. AZD0901, MK-7240) are not yet linked. Anchored on CT.gov primary completion date.
IL17A Drug Approval Timeline (2015 - 2023)
The first IL17A-targeting drug was approved in 2015, with the most recent approval in 2023.
The recent approval suggests continued interest and potential for further development in this area.
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Deep insights for drug target analysis
Competitive Landscape
- • 4 companies competing
- • Market share by company
Full Drug Portfolio
- • All 4 approved drugs
- • Approval dates & indications
Genetic Validation
- • Full genetic evidence table
- • Effect sizes & directions
Approval Timeline
- • Full 4-drug timeline
- • First-of-modality markers
Clinical Trials Analysis
- • Sponsors: 65 (20 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 IL17A. A trial counts if an approved drug acting on IL17A 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.