Lees, Charlie W.

Abstract Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic immune-mediated disorder of the gastrointestinal tract whose genetic basis is only partly resolved because most risk variants identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) lie in non-coding regions, limiting direct gene assignment and biological interpretation 1,2 . Here we analysed whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing data from 86,213 IBD cases and 478,363 controls of European ancestry. We identified 68 IBD genes directly implicated by conditionally independent protein-coding associations across the allele frequency spectrum. Many newly implicated IBD genes are supported by orthogonal genomic or pleiotropic evidence, pointing to disease-related pathways and nominating targets with therapeutic relevance. We further identified allelic series and non-additive effects at key loci such as NOD2 and TYK2. These results show that large-scale sequencing can resolve disease genes and pathways that remain ambiguous from non-coding association alone, providing a more direct route from human genetics to biological insight and therapeutic hypotheses.

Background: Etrasimod is an oral, once-daily (QD), selective sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P)1,4,5 receptor modulator for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC). It is known that non-serious treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) may not lead to UC drug discontinuation but can affect treatment tolerability. Objectives: This post hoc analysis evaluated the incidence of specific, common, non-serious TEAEs reported in the etrasimod UC clinical programme and the characteristics of affected patients. Design: Data included patients from the Placebo-controlled UC cohort (phase II OASIS, and phase III ELEVATE UC 52 and ELEVATE UC 12 trials) receiving QD etrasimod (2 or 1 mg) or placebo. Methods: Proportions and incidence rates (IRs; the number of patients with a TEAE divided by the total exposure in patient-years (PYs), per 100 PY) of Headache, Pyrexia, Nausea and Dizziness TEAEs were reported. Changes in heart rate among patients with Dizziness TEAEs were also evaluated. Results: Among 943 patients (etrasimod 2 mg, N = 577 (276.7 PY); etrasimod 1 mg, N = 52 (11.4 PY); placebo, N = 314 (115.1 PY)), 48, 34, 27 and 21 patients experienced events of Headache, Pyrexia, Nausea and Dizziness, respectively. All events were non-serious; one patient treated with etrasimod was discontinued due to a Pyrexia TEAE. Numerically, IRs of Headache and Dizziness TEAEs were higher, and Nausea slightly higher, with etrasimod versus placebo (13.45 vs 8.63 per 100 PY, 6.52 vs 1.69 and 7.18 vs 5.13 per 100 PY, respectively); IRs were similar for Pyrexia. The duration of most TEAEs was 1–10 days. Conclusion: In the etrasimod UC clinical programme, all Headache, Pyrexia, Nausea and Dizziness events were non-serious. Headache and Dizziness were more frequent, and Nausea slightly more frequent, among patients receiving etrasimod versus placebo. The post hoc nature of this analysis is a limitation. These results reiterate the favourable safety profile and tolerability of etrasimod. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02447302; NCT03945188; NCT03996369.

Abstract Background Etrasimod is an oral, once-daily, selective sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P)1,4,5 receptor modulator for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC). Adverse events (AEs) pertaining to tolerability, laboratory and serious AEs are described elsewhere1,2; we present a post hoc analysis of the incidence, onset and duration of the most commonly occurring non-serious AEs in the etrasimod UC clinical programme. Methods Data from the pooled Placebo-controlled UC cohort, derived from the phase 2 OASIS (NCT02447302) and phase 3 ELEVATE UC 52 (NCT03945188) and ELEVATE UC 12 (NCT03996369) double-blind clinical trials, were included. Cohorts comprised OASIS and ELEVATE UC 12 12-week induction periods alongside the ELEVATE UC 52 12-week induction and 40-week maintenance periods utilising a "treat-through" design. Patients (pts) with moderately to severely active UC were eligible for the etrasimod UC clinical programme. Pts were randomised to etrasimod 1 mg once daily (QD; OASIS only), etrasimod 2 mg QD or placebo. Proportions and incidence rates (IRs) of non-serious AEs (MedDRA v24.1 Preferred Terms of headache, pyrexia, nausea, fatigue and dizziness) were analysed in the Placebo-controlled UC cohort. Results Among 943 pts (any dose of etrasimod, N=629 [288.1 pt years (PY)]; placebo, N=314 [115.1 PY]), there were 77, 36, 30, 15 and 23 headache, pyrexia, nausea, fatigue and dizziness AEs, respectively. All were non-serious and did not lead to treatment discontinuation, apart from one case of pyrexia in which early termination visits were incomplete. Proportions and IRs (per 100 PY) for headache and dizziness AEs were higher with etrasimod (any dose) vs placebo (IRs: 13.45 vs 8.63 and 6.52 vs 1.69, respectively); IRs for other non-serious AEs were similar in etrasimod (any dose) and placebo groups (Table). Onset of AEs varied over time and most AEs were short in duration (Figure shows onset and duration for headache and dizziness AEs). Most AEs were deemed not related to study treatment by the site investigator. Pts with dizziness on Days 1–3 had similar changes in heart rate vs those with dizziness after Day 3. No consistent trend in heart rate was observed in pts receiving etrasimod with early dizziness. Conclusion Among pts in the etrasimod UC clinical programme, all headache, pyrexia, nausea, fatigue and dizziness events were non-serious. IRs were similar for most non-serious AEs across treatment groups, excluding headache and dizziness. Most non-serious AEs were short in duration and judged as not related to study treatment, suggesting they may not impact on the overall tolerability of etrasimod. References 1. Sandborn WJ et al. Gastroenterology 2020; 158: 550–61. 2. Sandborn WJ et al. Lancet 2023; 401: 1159–71.

Abstract During the 20th century, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was considered a disease of early-industrialized regions in North America, Europe, and Oceania. At the turn of the 21st century, incidence of IBD increased in newly-industrialized and emerging regions in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, while prevalence in early-industrialized regions started to grow steadily. Changes in incidence and prevalence denote evolution of IBD across four epidemiologic stages: Stage 1 (Emergence), characterized by low incidence and prevalence; stage 2 (Acceleration in Incidence), characterized by rapidly rising incidence and low prevalence; and stage 3 (Compounding Prevalence), characterized by decelerating, plateauing, or declining incidence and steadily rising prevalence. A fourth stage (Prevalence Equilibrium) has been proposed where the slope of prevalence plateaus due to shifting demographics of an aging IBD population, but it has not yet been evidenced. To date, these stages have been theoretical without specific incidence/prevalence indicators defining transition points. Using real-world data from 490 population-based studies comprising 80 global regions and spanning over a century (1920–2023), we show spatiotemporal transitions across stages 1–3 and model transition towards stage 4. Understanding the evolution of IBD across epidemiologic stages allows healthcare systems to better prepare for the future worldwide burden of IBD.

INTRODUCTION: Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a common cause of hospitalization worldwide. We assessed temporal trends in hospitalization for PUD in 36 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries since the turn of the 21st century. METHODS: The OECD database contains data on PUD-related hospital discharges and mortality for 36 countries between 2000 and 2019. Hospitalization rates for PUD were expressed as annual rates per 100,000 persons. Joinpoint regression models were used to calculate the average annual percent change (AAPC) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for each country, which were pooled using meta-analyses. The incidence of PUD was forecasted to 2021 using autoregressive integrated moving average and Poisson regression models. RESULTS: The overall median hospitalization rate was 42.4 with an interquartile range of 29.7–60.6 per 100,000 person-years. On average, hospitalization rates (AAPC = −3.9%; 95% CI: −4.4, −3.3) and morality rates (AAPC = −4.7%; 95% CI: −5.6, −3.8) for PUD have decreased from 2000 to 2019 globally. The forecasted incidence of PUD hospitalizations in 2021 ranged from 3.5 per 100,000 in Mexico to 92.1 per 100,000 in Lithuania. Across 36 countries in the OECD, 329,000 people are estimated to be hospitalized for PUD in 2021. DISCUSSION: PUD remains an important cause of hospitalization worldwide. Reassuringly, hospitalizations and mortality for PUD have consistently been falling in OECD countries in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Identifying underlying factors driving these trends is essential to sustaining this downward momentum.