All About Skyrizi

What is Skyrizi used for?

Skyrizi (risankizumab-rzaa) is a prescription drug that’s used to treat certain autoimmune disorders. These are conditions caused by your immune system attacking your own cells.

Skyrizi is used in adults to treat:

• moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in certain situations
• active psoriatic arthritis
• moderate to severely active Crohn’s disease

For treating plaque psoriasis

Skyrizi is prescribed to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults who can use light therapy or systemic therapy for the condition. (Systemic therapy affects your whole body.)

Plaque psoriasis causes thick red or dark-colored patches of skin on the elbows, knees, lower back, or scalp. These patches, called plaques, can itch or bleed.

Skyrizi works by attaching to certain immune system proteins. This helps ease inflammation that leads to plaque psoriasis lesions on your skin.

For treating psoriatic arthritis

Skyrizi may be prescribed to treat active psoriatic arthritis. “Active” means you’re experiencing symptoms of the condition. With psoriatic arthritis, there may be periods when you aren’t experiencing symptoms.

For treating psoriatic arthritis, Skyrizi may be used alone or with other drugs known as disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. Examples include methotrexate (Trexall, Otrexup), tofacitinib (Xeljanz, Xeljanz XR), and sulfasalazine (Azulfidine).

Symptoms of psoriatic arthritis include joint pain, swollen fingers or toes, scaly patches of skin, nail pitting, fatigue, and eye redness or pain.

Skyrizi works by attaching to certain immune system proteins. This helps decrease the inflammation that causes symptoms of psoriatic arthritis.

For treating Crohn’s disease

Skyrizi may be prescribed to treat moderate to severely active Crohn’s disease, which is a type of inflammatory bowel disease. This condition results from inflammation in the digestive tract, often in the colon or small intestine.

Crohn’s disease symptoms include abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fatigue (low energy), bloody stool, and a feeling of an urgent need to have a bowel movement.

Skyrizi works by attaching to certain immune system proteins. This helps lower the inflammation that causes symptoms of Crohn’s disease.

What is Skyrizi’s dosage?

Your doctor will recommend the dosage of Skyrizi that’s right for you. Below are commonly used dosages, but always use the dosage your doctor prescribes.

Forms and strengths

Skyrizi comes as a liquid solution that may be given as:

• a subcutaneous injection (an injection under your skin)
• an intravenous (IV) infusion (an injection into a vein over a period of time)

For injection under the skin, Skyrizi comes in several forms and strengths, as listed in the table below. All strengths are given in milligrams per milliliter (mg/mL) of liquid solution.

For IV infusion, Skyrizi comes as a single-dose vial containing 600 mg/10 mL of liquid solution.

Recommended dosages

Your doctor will recommend a Skyrizi dose that’s right for you. Below are commonly used dosages, but the dosage you receive will be determined by your doctor.

For all conditions Skyrizi is used for, dosing schedules start with higher or more frequent doses than what you’ll eventually receive as your maintenance (ongoing) dosage. These starter doses are used to get increased levels of the drug into your body to help Skyrizi start working quickly.

To learn more about Skyrizi’s dosage, see this article.

Dosage for plaque psoriasis

For treatment of plaque psoriasis, the dosing schedule for Skyrizi begins with two starter doses of 150 mg given as injections under your skin. After you receive the first starter dose, you’ll receive the second 4 weeks later.

You’ll then likely receive a 150-mg dose of Skyrizi once every 12 weeks.

Dosage for psoriatic arthritis

For treatment of psoriatic arthritis, your doctor will likely prescribe two starter doses of 150 mg given as injections under your skin. After the starter doses, you’ll receive maintenance doses of 150 mg. The Skyrizi maintenance dosage for psoriatic arthritis is the same as it is for plaque psoriasis (see the section just above for details).

Dosage for Crohn’s disease

For treatment of Crohn’s disease, the dosing schedule for Skyrizi begins with three starter doses of 600 mg. You’ll receive these doses by IV infusion. After the first starter dose, you’ll receive the second 4 weeks later and the third 8 weeks later.

Then at week 12, you’ll switch to a maintenance dosage, which you’ll receive as an injection under your skin. The recommended maintenance dose is 180 mg or 360 mg of Skyrizi. Your doctor will recommend which dose is effective for your condition. You’ll receive these injections every 8 weeks.

How to use Skyrizi

For Skyrizi injections under your skin, you’ll likely get your first few doses of Skyrizi from your doctor.

After your first few doses, you may start giving Skyrizi injections to yourself at home. Your doctor will show you how to do this with the form they prescribe for you (prefilled pen, prefilled syringe, or on-body injector). You can also visit the drug manufacturer’s website for more information on how to self-inject Skyrizi using the prefilled pen, prefilled syringe, or on-body injector.

For Skyrizi IV infusions, a healthcare professional will administer the dose over the course of at least 1 hour. You’ll receive your infusions in a clinic, hospital, or infusion center. Your doctor will instruct you on what to expect from these infusions and how to prepare.

Questions about using Skyrizi

Here are answers to some questions commonly asked about using Skyrizi.

• What if I miss a dose of Skyrizi? If you miss an appointment to get a Skyrizi dose, call your doctor’s office right away to reschedule. If you use Skyrizi at home and you miss a dose, take your missed dose as soon as you remember. After you take your missed dose, you’ll likely go back to your usual dosing schedule. But talk with your doctor to be sure.
• Will I need to use Skyrizi long term? Yes, if Skyrizi is working for you without causing serious or bothersome side effects, you’ll probably use it long term. Be sure to talk with your doctor about how long you should use this drug.
• Should I receive Skyrizi with food? You can take your dose of Skyrizi with or without food.
• How long does Skyrizi take to work? Your symptoms should start to lessen after you receive your starter doses of Skyrizi. In studies of the drug, some people had improvement after just 16 weeks of treatment.

What are Skyrizi’s side effects?

Like most drugs, Skyrizi may cause mild or serious side effects. The lists below describe some of the main side effects that Skyrizi may cause. These lists don’t include all possible side effects.

Your doctor or pharmacist can tell you more about the potential side effects of Skyrizi. They can also suggest ways to help reduce side effects.

Mild side effects

Here’s a short list of some of the mild side effects that Skyrizi can cause. To learn about other mild side effects, talk with your doctor or pharmacist, or read Skyrizi’s prescribing information.

Possible side effects may vary depending on the condition you’re using Skyrizi to treat. Mild side effects of Skyrizi can include:

• fatigue (low energy)
• fungal infections of the skin or nails
• upper respiratory infections (URI),* such as the common cold
• joint pain
• fever
• abdominal pain or back pain
• anemia (low level of red blood cells)
• urinary tract infection (UTI)
• pain, discoloration, or swelling at the injection site*
• headache*

Mild side effects of many drugs may go away within a few days or a couple of weeks. But if they become bothersome, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

* For more information about this side effect, see the “Side effect focus” section below.

Serious side effects

Serious side effects from Skyrizi can occur, but they aren’t common. If you have serious side effects from Skyrizi, call your doctor right away. However, if you think you’re having a medical emergency, you should call 911 or your local emergency number.

Serious side effects can include:

• serious infections, such as pneumonia
• liver damage

Side effect focus

Learn more about some of the side effects Skyrizi may cause.

Upper respiratory infection

You might get an upper respiratory infection (URI) while you’re receiving Skyrizi. In fact, this was the most common side effect reported in studies of Skyrizi. Types of URIs include the common cold, sinus infections, and tonsillitis.

With a URI, you may have a cough, mucus production, sneezing, and a runny or stuffy nose.

What might help

You can usually help relieve URI symptoms by taking over-the-counter drugs. A few suggestions are listed below:

• Antihistamines, which can help relieve sneezing and runny nose. Examples include loratadine (Claritin) and cetirizine (Zyrtec).
• Products that contain dextromethorphan, which can help reduce cough. An example of this kind of drug is Robitussin DM.
• Guaifenesin (Mucinex), which can help break up mucus in your chest.
• Decongestants, which can help relieve stuffy nose. Examples include oxymetazoline (Afrin) and pseudoephedrine (Sudafed).

Before taking any OTC medications, talk with your doctor or pharmacist. You can also try several home remedies that may ease URI symptoms.

If your URI symptoms aren’t improving, be sure to call your doctor.

Headache

You might have a headache after receiving injections of Skyrizi. This was a common side effect in studies of the drug.

The type of headache Skyrizi may cause can be different from person to person. Here are a few examples of different types of headaches you might have with this drug:

• tension headache, which can feel like a band around your forehead
• sinus headache, which can feel like pressure around your cheeks, forehead, eyes, or nose
• cervicogenic headache, which resembles a migraine headache and causes pain at the bottom of your skull or in your neck

What might help

You can usually treat a headache with OTC drugs, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil), and naproxen (Aleve). Applying a cold compress or heating pad to your head may help ease symptoms. Try doing this for 5 to 10 minutes several times throughout the day.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist before taking any medications with Skyrizi. And if your headache is severe, or it’s not getting better with these measures, be sure to call your doctor.

Pain, discoloration, or swelling at the injection site

After you get a Skyrizi injection, you may have pain, discoloration, or swelling at the site where the drug was injected. This side effect is called an injection site reaction. This was a common side effect in studies of Skyrizi.

What might help

You can try relieving symptoms of an injection site reaction by applying a cold compress to the area affected. You can also try taking over-the-counter pain medications. These include acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil), and naproxen (Aleve). But check with your doctor or pharmacist before taking any medications with Skyrizi.

Avoid rubbing the injection site, as doing so can make your symptoms worse.

What should be considered before receiving Skyrizi?

If you’re considering Skyrizi treatment, there are some important things you should discuss with your doctor. These include your overall health and any medical conditions you may have. These and other factors to consider before starting Skyrizi treatment are described below.

Interactions

Taking medications, vaccines, foods, and other things with a certain drug can affect how the drug works. These effects are called interactions.

Before using Skyrizi, be sure to tell your doctor about all medications you take (including prescription and over-the-counter types). Also, describe any vitamins, herbs, or supplements you use. Your doctor or pharmacist can tell you about any interactions these items may cause with Skyrizi.

Interactions with drugs or supplements

Skyrizi isn’t known to interact with any specific drugs or supplements. But you should still talk with your doctor or pharmacist about all other medications and supplements you’re taking. Your doctor or pharmacist can tell you whether you’re at risk of any interactions with Skyrizi.

Other interactions

You shouldn’t receive live vaccines while you’re using Skyrizi. (Live vaccines are made from live forms of a virus or bacterium.) Skyrizi can lower your ability to fight infections. So if you get a live vaccine, you may be more likely to get the infection the vaccine was meant to protect you from.

Before you get any vaccines while using Skyrizi, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

Pregnancy and breastfeeding

If you can become pregnant, are breastfeeding, or are using birth control, it’s important to consider whether Skyrizi is a safe choice for you.

You can refer to this article for more information. If you have additional questions, talk with your doctor.

Warnings

Skyrizi can sometimes cause harmful effects in people who have certain conditions. This is known as a drug-condition interaction. Other factors may also affect whether Skyrizi is a good treatment option for you.

Talk with your doctor about your health history before you take Skyrizi. Be sure to tell them if any of the following factors apply to you:

• tuberculosis (TB)
• previous allergic reaction to Skyrizi
• active infection or a history of reoccurring infections
• liver problems
• pregnancy
• breastfeeding

Frequently asked questions about Skyrizi

Find answers to some commonly asked questions about Skyrizi.

How does Skyrizi compare to Humira?

Both Skyrizi and Humira are injections used to treat plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and Crohn’s disease in adults. Humira is also prescribed to treat other conditions in adults, such as rheumatoid arthritis, hidradenitis suppurativa, and uveitis. In addition, Humira may be used in children to treat certain conditions.

Skyrizi and Humira each contain different active ingredients. Skyrizi contains the active ingredient risankizumab-rzaa. Humira contains the active ingredient adalimumab. Both drugs come as a liquid solution inside prefilled syringes, prefilled pens, and a single-dose vial for injection. Skyrizi also comes as a liquid solution in a cartridge for use with an on-body injector.

If you’d like to know more about the differences between Skyrizi and Humira, see this article. Your doctor or pharmacist can also tell you more about how these drugs compare.

Is Skyrizi a type of biologic drug?

Yes, Skyrizi is a type of biologic drug.

Biologic drugs are made from parts of living organisms. Drugs that aren’t biologics, on the other hand, are made of chemicals.

Skyrizi cost and coupons

Costs of prescription drugs can vary depending on many factors. These factors include where you live, what your insurance plan covers, and which pharmacy you use.

If you have questions about how to pay for your prescription, talk with your doctor or pharmacist. You can also visit the Skyrizi manufacturer’s website to see if it has support options.

You can also visit Optum Perks to get price estimates of what you’d pay for Skyrizi when using coupons from the site. See the coupon options below. (Note: Optum Perks coupons cannot be used with any insurance copays or benefits.)

Save on your Skyrizi prescription

Save on Skyrizi (antipsoriatic) without insurance.

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Simply show the Optum Perks coupon at your preferred pharmacy or order online and instantly save up to 80% without using insurance. The coupon doesn’t expire, so be sure to save it for refills.

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Retail price refers to the manufacturer’s published list price and is up to date as of 3/2023. Retail and discounted prices are U.S.-only and can vary based on region and pharmacy. We cannot guarantee that the discounted price listed here will exactly match the price at your pharmacy. Please contact your pharmacy for the exact price.

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What should be done in case of overdose?

Don’t take more Skyrizi than your doctor prescribes. Using more than this can lead to serious side effects.

What to do in case you take too much Skyrizi

Call your doctor if you think you’ve taken too much Skyrizi. You can also call 800-222-1222 to reach America’s Poison Centers or use its online resource. However, if you have severe symptoms, immediately call 911 (or your local emergency number) or go to the nearest emergency room.

Ask your doctor

Before starting Skyrizi treatment, you should talk with your doctor about whether it’s the right choice for you.

Besides Skyrizi, there are other treatments available for plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, and Crohn’s disease. If you have questions about the treatment option that’s best for you, talk with your doctor or pharmacist.

Here are a few other questions you may want to ask your doctor about Skyrizi treatment:

• Which vaccines are safe for me to take while using Skyrizi?
• Am I taking any medications that might interact with Skyrizi?
• Can you recommend ways to lower my risk of getting an infection while taking Skyrizi?
• Can you show me how to self-inject Skyrizi?

To learn more about Skyrizi, see these articles:

• Skyrizi and Cost: What You Need to Know
• Dosage Details for Skyrizi
• Side Effects of Skyrizi: What You Need to Know
• Skyrizi vs. Humira: What You Should Know

To get information on different conditions and tips for improving your health, subscribe to any of Healthline’s newsletters. You may also want to check out the online communities at Bezzy. It’s a place where people with certain conditions can find support and connect with others.