risankizumab
Skyrizi (risankizumab) is an interleukin-23 inhibitor from AbbVie for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, active psoriatic arthritis, and moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. It calms the IL-23-driven inflammatory loop behind these conditions.
This page is based on FDA prescribing information and the EMA medicine record for risankizumab, cross-checked with DailyMed; the mechanism is explained in plain language, and analogies are used only where they stay accurate.
How it works
Explains what the medicine does in the body, not dosing, side effects, or safety.
An analogy
Psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease are fires kept burning by a bellows called IL-23, which pumps immune cells into overdrive in the skin, joints, and gut. Risankizumab clamps the bellows shut. Without the extra air, the inflammatory fire dies down, plaques fade, joints settle, and the gut lining gets a chance to heal.
In simple terms
In plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis, the immune system mistakenly keeps tissues inflamed. A signalling protein called IL-23 helps maintain that inflammation. Risankizumab is an antibody given by injection or infusion that binds IL-23 and prevents it from activating immune cells. With the signal blocked, skin plaques clear, joint inflammation eases, and intestinal inflammation in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis is reduced.
In depth
Risankizumab is an interleukin-23 antagonist that binds the p19 subunit unique to IL-23, blocking its interaction with the IL-23 receptor and downstream signalling in T-helper 17 cells. Selectivity for IL-23 over the p40 subunit shared with IL-12 preserves IL-12-mediated immunity. By interrupting the IL-23 inflammatory axis, it reduces the cytokine-driven pathology of plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis, supporting its approved use across these conditions in adults and, for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, in children from age six.
See it in motion
A schematic animation of the mechanism — simplified for clarity, not drawn to scale.
How risankizumab clamps the IL-23 bellows shut across skin, joints, and gut
- Psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease are fires kept burning by a bellows called IL-23, which pumps immune cells into overdrive in the skin, joints, and gut.
- Risankizumab is an interleukin-23 antagonist that binds the p19 subunit unique to IL-23, blocking its interaction with the IL-23 receptor and downstream signalling in T-helper 17 cells.
- By interrupting the IL-23 inflammatory axis, it reduces the cytokine-driven pathology of plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis, supporting its approved use across these conditions in adults and, for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, in children from age six.
- Without the extra air, the inflammatory fire dies down, plaques fade, joints settle, and the gut lining gets a chance to heal.
Target: Interleukin-23 (IL-23, p19 subunit)
A cytokine that sustains the inflammatory loop in psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease; blocking its p19 subunit calms the immune cascade without disturbing the related IL-12 pathway.
Approved uses
Approved uses differ by country and change over time. Always follow your local prescribing information.
Approved uses in United States
FDA- For the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adults and pediatric patients 6 years of age and older who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy
- For the treatment of active psoriatic arthritis in adults and pediatric patients 6 years of age and older
- For the treatment of moderately to severely active Crohn's disease in adults
- For the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis in adults
Approved uses in European Union
EMA- For the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults who are candidates for systemic therapy
- For the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in children and adolescents from the age of 6 years who are candidates for systemic therapy
- Alone or in combination with methotrexate, for the treatment of active psoriatic arthritis in adults who have had an inadequate response or who have been intolerant to one or more disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs)
- For the treatment of adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease who have had an inadequate response to, lost response to, or were intolerant to conventional therapy or a biologic therapy
- For the treatment of adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis who have had an inadequate response to, lost response to, or were intolerant to conventional therapy or a biologic therapy
Official sources
The statements on this page trace back to these records.
- Skyrizi (risankizumab) — Summary of product characteristics and package leaflet, English version
European Medicines Agency
- DailyMed: SKYRIZI (risankizumab) official US label
U.S. National Library of Medicine, DailyMed
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: risankizumab prescribing information
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
This page explains how the medicine works — it isn’t the patient leaflet. For anything that applies to you, read the leaflet that came with your medicine or ask your pharmacist.
MedUnfold provides educational content and is not medical advice. Always follow your local prescribing information and healthcare professional.