The HCPFive: Top News for Healthcare Providers from the Week of 03/15

Welcome to The HCPFive, your go-to roundup for the latest healthcare news and breakthroughs, curated specifically for busy healthcare professionals.

Each week, we highlight 5 key developments or headlines from healthcare that you need to know—whether it's a cutting-edge treatment, regulatory updates, or innovations shaping the future of medicine. This week's top stories include the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals of icotrokinra (Icotyde) for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults and pediatric patients ≥ 12 years of age weighing ≥ 40 kg who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy, a new higher dose of semaglutide (Wegovy; Wegovy HD) injection 7.2 mg for weight loss in adults with obesity, and setmelanotide (Imcivree) for acquired hypothalamic obesity in adults and pediatric patients ≥ 4 years of age, as well as phase 3 data supporting retatrutide’s use in type 2 diabetes and finerenone’s role in nondiabetic chronic kidney disease.

With The HCPFive, you'll get the essential takeaways to stay informed and ahead of the curve. Here’s your quick dive into the top stories for the week of March 15, 2026—let’s jump in!

Icotrokinra, an Oral Il-23 Inhibitor, Receives FDA Approval for Psoriasis

On March 18, 2026, the FDA approved Johnson & Johnson’s icotrokinra (Icotyde) for the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults and pediatric patients ≥ 12 years of age weighing ≥ 40 kg who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy. The approval marks the first for an oral targeted peptide selectively blocking the IL-23 receptor and introduces a new mechanistic class to the psoriasis treatment landscape backed by data from multiple trials in the phase 3 ICONIC program.

FDA Approves Higher Dose Semaglutide (Wegovy HD) Injection 7.2 mg for Obesity

On March 19, 2026, the FDA approved a new higher dose of Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide (Wegovy; Wegovy HD) injection 7.2 mg to be used along with a reduced calorie diet and increased physical activity to help adults with obesity lose weight and keep it off, provided they have tolerated the 2.4 mg dosage for ≥ 4 weeks and additional weight reduction is clinically indicated. The update supplements the existing semaglutide label, which also has distinct indications for semaglutide not offered by any other GLP-1 medication for weight loss.

FDA Approves Setmelanotide (Imcivree) for Acquired Hypothalmic Obesity

On March 19, 2026, the FDA approved an expanded indication for setmelanotide (Imcivree) to treat acquired hypothalamic obesity in adults and pediatric patients ≥ 4 years of age, making it the first and only FDA-approved therapy for this rare condition. The approval was based on data from the global, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 TRANSCEND trial.

Retatrutide Delivers A1C Reduction, Weight Loss in Phase 3 TRANSCEND-T2D-1 Trial

On March 19, 2026, Eli Lilly and Company announced positive topline results from the phase 3 TRANSCEND-T2D-1 trial assessing the efficacy and safety of retatrutide, an investigational first-in-class GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon triple hormone receptor agonist, as an adjunct to diet and exercise in people with type 2 diabetes and inadequate glycemic control. In the study, retatrutide met the primary and all key secondary endpoints, delivering superior A1C reduction and weight loss at 40 weeks compared to placebo, using both the efficacy and treatment-regimen estimands.

Finerenone Proves CKD Benefit Extends Beyond Diabetes in FIND-CKD

On March 16, 2026, Bayer announced the phase 3 FIND-CKD trial evaluating finerenone (Kerendia) in adult patients with nondiabetic chronic kidney disease met its primary endpoint, demonstrating a statistically significant improvement in eGFR slope versus placebo over 32 months. The company indicated it plans to submit the data to the FDA to seek a label expansion into this patient population, which would represent the broadest application of the agent to date across a CKD program now spanning > 20,000 patients in phase 3 trials.