Secukinumab

Updated July 2024

What is Secukinumab?

Download button - information sheetSecukinumab (brand name: Cosentyx®) is a medicine used to treat adults with psoriatic arthritis, a type of joint inflammation that often occurs with the skin condition called psoriasis. Secukinumab is also used to treat adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis that is chronic (lasts for a long time). 

Secukinumab may also be used to treat adults with axial spondyloarthritis, including ankylosing spondylitis, a condition which causes inflammation in the spinal joints, resulting in pain and stiffness in the spine. 

Secukinumab works by recognising and binding to an inflammatory protein called Interleukin 17A (IL-17A). In patients with psoriatic arthritis and axial spondyloarthritis, the body makes too much IL-17A which is a cause of stiff and painful joints. This means secukinumab can reduce the inflammation and symptoms caused by having too much IL-17A.