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How is Ilumya administered?

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Feb 7, 2024.

Official answer

by Drugs.com

Ilumya is given as by subcutaneous injection, which means under the skin. Ilumya must be administered by a healthcare professional who will choose an injection site with clear skin and easy access, such as your abdomen (stomach), thighs, or upper arm. Ilumya should not be administered within 2 inches of the navel or where the skin is tender, bruised, red, or affected by psoriasis. It should also not be injected into scars, stretch marks, or blood vessels.

The first two injections of Ilumya are given 4 weeks apart, followed by an injection thereafter once every 12 weeks. Each single-dose prefilled syringe of Ilumya contains 100 mg of tildrakizumab-asmn. Ilumya cannot be self-administered.

In March 2018, the FDA approved Ilumya (tildrakizumab-asmn), a humanized interleukin-23 p19 subunit antagonist (anti-IL-23p19) monoclonal antibody for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adults who are candidates for systemic treatment or phototherapy (ultraviolet or UV light).

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There are a number of differences between Skyrizi and Ilumya:

  • Ilumya was FDA approved in 2018 and Skyrizi was FDA approved in 2019.
  • Ilyumya is a brand name for tildrakizumab and Skyrizi is a brand name for risankizumab
  • The dose of Skyrizi is 150mg, but because each injection only contains 75mg, two injections must be given per dose. The dose of Ilumya is 100mg, and each injection contains 100mg therefore only one injection needs to be given each time
  • Ilumya needs to be administered by a healthcare professional; however, patients prescribed Skyrizi can be taught how to self-administer it at home
  • Skyrizi is also approved to treat adults with active psoriatic arthritis (PsA).
Continue reading

Ilumya is not approved by the FDA to treat psoriatic arthritis, but studies for this use are ongoing. Illumya is only approved to treat plaque psoriasis at this time. Your doctor may decide, based on their medical judgement, to prescribe Ilumya off-label for other conditions. Continue reading

There have been few comparative trials comparing Ilumya to other biologics used for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque-type psoriasis. The joint AAD and NPF guidelines conclude that all 11 biologics have grade A evidence for efficacy as monotherapy in plaque psoriasis and a person’s medical and social should be taken into account when choosing a biologic. Certain biologics may be preferred in people who are overweight because they use weight-based dosing (such as infliximab or Stelara), whereas others may be preferred in those with poor compliance because they are dosed every 12 weeks (such as Stelara, Skyrizi or Ilumya). Continue reading

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