Dong A ST presents topical icotrokinra data from early skin and animal tests
At AAPS PharmSci 360, Dong-A ST reported a skin formulation of the oral psoriasis peptide icotrokinra that reached skin tissue and reduced inflammation in an animal model. No figures or human data were released.
What's new
Dong-A ST presented ex vivo skin and animal data on a topical formulation of icotrokinra, the oral IL 23 receptor blocking peptide approved by the FDA in March 2026.
Why it matters
A peptide that works through the skin could widen use to milder psoriasis, but no figures or human data were released and the company has not said whether it holds rights to the molecule.
What's next
Dong-A ST plans more formulation work but gave no timeline; formal animal safety studies and a first human trial would come before any efficacy claim.
South Korean drugmaker Dong-A ST has presented early laboratory and animal data on topical icotrokinra, a skin applied form of the oral peptide approved in the United States for plaque psoriasis in March. The company said on October 27 that the work, shown at the AAPS PharmSci 360 meeting in New Orleans, found a formulation that delivered the drug into skin and eased inflammation in an animal model. No human testing has been reported. The company itself said safety and efficacy in people have yet to be established.
What the company presented in New Orleans
The poster, titled "Development of a Topical Icotrokinra Formulation for the Treatment of Psoriasis," was presented by Kim Hae-sun, a principal scientist on the drug delivery system team at Dong-A ST, according to Korea Biomedical Review. The team ran two kinds of tests. First, it measured how well different formulations moved into and stayed within skin, using ex vivo skin models, meaning skin tissue studied outside a living body. Second, it applied the chosen formulation in an animal model of skin inflammation. The company reported that one formulation carried icotrokinra into the skin. In the animals it reduced inflammation and lowered the activity of genes coding for IL 17A, IL 17F and IL 22, three signalling proteins that drive psoriasis.
The report gives no numbers. It does not state how much drug reached each layer of skin, how many animals were treated, how large the drop in inflammation was or what the formulation was compared with. A poster at a pharmaceutical sciences meeting is also not a peer reviewed paper, so outside scientists cannot yet check the methods. Animal models of skin inflammation are standard early tools, but they reproduce only parts of human psoriasis, and results in them often fail to carry over. The coverage also does not say whether Dong-A ST has any agreement covering the molecule. Johnson & Johnson holds worldwide rights to develop and sell icotrokinra under its license with Protagonist Therapeutics, which jointly discovered the drug.
The oral peptide behind topical icotrokinra
Icotrokinra is a macrocyclic peptide, a ring shaped chain of amino acids built to block the receptor for interleukin 23, a key signal in psoriasis. The FDA approved it as an oral tablet under the name Icotyde on March 18, 2026, for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, Johnson & Johnson said at the time. The label covers adults and children aged 12 or older who weigh at least 40 kg and are candidates for systemic treatment or light therapy. The company called it the first targeted oral peptide that blocks the IL 23 receptor. Older drugs that act on the same pathway are antibodies given by injection.
The FDA approved it as an oral tablet under the name Icotyde on March 18, 2026, for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, Johnson & Johnson said at the time.
The approval rested on the ICONIC phase 3 program, which compared the tablet with placebo and, in some studies, with the oral drug deucravacitinib or the injected antibody ustekinumab. In the head to head studies, about 70% of patients reached clear or almost clear skin and 55% reached a 90% improvement in their psoriasis score at week 16, the company said. It reported adverse reaction rates within 1.1 percentage points of placebo through week 16 and no new safety signals through week 52. Those results apply to the tablet only. They say nothing about how a cream or gel would perform, since a skin product would reach the body in different amounts and act mainly where it is applied.
Why a skin formulation is hard
Delivering a peptide through skin is a long standing problem. The outer layer of skin is a tight barrier that keeps most large molecules out, and peptides are larger than the small molecules found in most creams. That is why Dong-A ST led with penetration and retention tests before any work on inflammation. A drug that stays on the surface does nothing, while one that passes straight through into the blood loses the point of a local treatment. The company said its formulation delivered the drug into skin, but it has not shown how much stayed there or how much entered the circulation. Those figures will decide whether a topical version could treat plaques with low exposure elsewhere in the body.
| Item | Oral icotrokinra | Topical icotrokinra |
|---|---|---|
| Developer named | Johnson & Johnson with Protagonist | Dong-A ST formulation work |
| Stage | Approved by the FDA on March 18, 2026 | Ex vivo skin and animal tests |
| Human data | ICONIC phase 3 program | None reported |
| Results public | Company release with week 16 figures | Conference poster, no figures released |
| Next step | Further studies, including psoriatic arthritis | Not announced |
The idea has a clinical logic. Many people with psoriasis have limited plaques and are treated with creams and ointments before any tablet or injection, so a local form of a targeted drug could in theory reach a larger group of patients. Oral peptides themselves needed special engineering to survive the gut, a challenge also seen with the first GLP 1 pill for weight management. A skin product faces a different barrier but a similar question of how much drug reaches its target. For now the topical work sits at the earliest stage of development. Neither company has announced a clinical trial of a topical form, and no human data have been shown.
What comes next
Dong-A ST said it will keep developing new formulations based on its experience with transdermal and topical drug delivery. It gave no timetable, no plan for human trials and no word on partners. Before a topical icotrokinra product could reach patients, it would need formal safety studies in animals, then a first trial in people to test skin tolerance and how much drug enters the blood, then efficacy trials against a control. Each of those steps is usually reported through a trial registry or a company release. Our trials desk will report them when they appear, with the primary source linked. Until then, the New Orleans data are a proof of concept from a single company presentation.
Meanwhile, the oral drug is building its own record. Johnson & Johnson announced on October 22 that it would present late breaking data on icotrokinra in psoriatic arthritis at the ACR Convergence 2026 meeting, a sign that the company is pursuing other immune diseases with the tablet. Psoriatic disease also draws interest from other drug classes on this site, including an analysis of how tirzepatide added to ixekizumab changed predicted heart risk. None of those programs depends on the Dong-A ST work. The topical project matters mainly as a test of whether a peptide designed for the gut can also be delivered through the skin barrier.
Conclusion
Dong-A ST's topical icotrokinra data show that a skin formulation of the approved oral peptide reached skin tissue and calmed inflammation in an animal model. The company released no figures, no human data and no development plan, and it has not said whether it has rights to the molecule. The work is an early laboratory step. Any clinical claim would need trials in people.
