Biotech stock Oruka Therapeutics skyrocketed Wednesday on promising test results for what could be a once-annual shot to treat plaque psoriasis.
In Phase 1 testing, Oruka's ORKA-001 showed a half-life of roughly 100 days. The half-life is how long it takes for the drug's concentration in the body to decrease by 50%. According to Oruka, that's more than three times longer than the half-life of AbbVie's blockbuster psoriasis treatment, Skyrizi. Drugs with longer half-lives require fewer doses.
The half-life exceeded even Oruka Therapeutics' own expectations, Chief Executive Lawrence Klein said in a statement. In general, most antibody-based drugs have a half-life of about 30 days, the company says.
"We are increasingly confident that ORKA-001 can redefine the standard of care in this important disease," he said. "I'm very pleased with how quickly our team has progressed this program and by the enthusiasm we are hearing from investigators and patients."
On today's stock market, Oruka shares jumped 8.8% to 16.21. The biotech stock gapped up from its 50-day line.
How Oruka Is Taking On AbbVie
Oruka Therapeutics' drug works by blocking IL-23, a cytokine tied to autoimmune and inflammatory diseases like psoriasis and Crohn's disease. A number of drugs, including Skyrizi, block IL-23. But these drugs require four to six doses a year.
Notably, healthy volunteers who received ORKA-001 showed sustained inhibition of STAT3 signaling, a downstream marker of IL-23 activity.
In addition to the long half-life, ORKA-001 showed a Cmax that topped Skyrizi at a similar dose. In pharmacology, the Cmax is the peak concentration a drug achieves in a specific area of the body.
Oruka is now running a midstage study to determine whether ORKA-001 could work as a once-a-year treatment, enabling higher skin clearance and longer off-treatment remission. The company expects to have initial test results in the second half of 2026.
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