On Oct. 31, 2023, Novartis announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved Cosentyxﾮ (secukinumab) to treat moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) in adults. Cosentyx is the only FDA-approved fully human biologic that directly inhibits interleukin-17A (IL-17A), a cytokine believed to be involved in the inflammation of HS.

HS is a chronic, systemic and often painful skin disease that causes recurring boil-like lumps that may burst into open wounds and cause irreversible scarring, often in the most intimate parts of the bo.