Novartis AG is positioned to beat rivals Amgen Inc./AstraZeneca PLC and Eli Lilly & Co. to market with a first-in-class IL-17 inhibitor for psoriasis. The company said during a year-end sales and earnings call Jan. 29 that it filed its IL-17 blocker secukinumab with regulatory authorities in the U.S. and Europe in the fourth quarter, with action on the applications expected in late-2014.
Novartis is in a tight race with Amgen/AstraZeneca and Lilly to bring an IL-17 blocker to market. The category of...