{
  "id": 16260617,
  "title": "Once-daily oral icotrokinra outperforms placebo in ulcerative colitis",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/24/once-daily-oral-icotrokinra-outperforms-placebo-in-ulcerative-colitis",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-24T02:00:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Medical Xpress",
    "slug": "medical-xpress",
    "url": "https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-daily-oral-icotrokinra-outperforms-placebo.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that once-daily oral icotrokinra, a peptide that targets the interleukin-23 receptor, offered greater clinical benefits for patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis compared to placebo. Conducted as a phase 2, double-blind, randomized trial by Maria T. Abreu and colleagues at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles, the research involved 310 adults with active ulcerative colitis who were assigned to receive icotrokinra at dosages of 400 mg, 200 mg, or 100 mg or placebo.\n\nThe findings showed that icotrokinra significantly outperformed placebo in achieving a clinical response by week 12, with 55-63% of participants experiencing improvement, compared to 27% in the placebo group. Notably, the 400-mg dose was particularly effective, resulting in 30% of participants achieving clinical remission, as opposed to 11% in the placebo group. Similar improvements were seen in symptomatic remission and endoscopic status, with the 400-mg group showing higher percentages of participants experiencing these outcomes.\n\nWhile adverse events were reported in all groups, they were similar in frequency across the different icotrokinra doses and the placebo group. The 400-mg dose, in particular, showed promising results even in patients who had not responded to previous treatments. Abreu noted that the oral administration of icotrokinra provides a convenient treatment option for managing ulcerative colitis.",
  "summary": "For patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis, oral icotrokinra, a peptide that blocks the interleukin-23 receptor, yields a clinical response at week 12 significantly more often than placebo, according to a study published in the Oct. 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.",
  "key_points": [
    "Once-daily oral icotrokinra outperforms placebo in ulcerative colitis treatment",
    "400-mg dose achieves clinical remission in 30% of participants",
    "Oral administration offers convenient treatment option for ulcerative colitis"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The successful phase 2 trial of oral icotrokinra offers a more convenient dosing regimen and a potential new lifeline for patients who have failed to respond to previous ulcerative colitis treatments.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}