Loftus, Edward V.

Abstract Background and aims This post hoc analysis evaluated the corticosteroid-sparing effects of risankizumab (RZB) therapy in patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis in the phase 3 induction and maintenance studies, INSPIRE and COMMAND. Methods Patients were randomized (2:1) to 12 weeks of intravenous RZB or placebo (PBO) induction therapy; responders to intravenous RZB were randomized (1:1:1) to receive subcutaneous RZB 180 mg, 360 mg, or PBO (RZB withdrawal) maintenance therapy. Baseline corticosteroid doses were maintained during induction, with a mandatory taper beginning at maintenance week 0. Efficacy outcomes were evaluated by baseline corticosteroid use at induction week 12, while corticosteroid-free clinical and endoscopic outcomes were assessed at maintenance week 52 among the overall population and among patients on corticosteroids at baseline. Safety was also assessed. Results At baseline, 35.7% (348/975) of patients were taking corticosteroids. At induction week 12, greater rates were observed for clinical, endoscopic, and patient-reported outcomes in RZB 1200 mg-treated patients compared with PBO, regardless of baseline corticosteroid use. RZB 180 mg and 360 mg treatment resulted in higher corticosteroid discontinuation rates (RZB 180 mg 64.9% [48/74]; RZB 360 mg 54.2% [32/59]; PBO [withdrawal] 36.8% [25/68], P ≤ .01) and corticosteroid-free clinical, endoscopic, and patient-reported outcomes at week 52, compared with PBO (withdrawal). The rates of treatment-emergent adverse events were similar regardless of baseline corticosteroid use during induction and maintenance. Conclusions The efficacy of RZB induction therapy was independent of corticosteroid use, with high rates of corticosteroid-free outcomes observed in the overall population and among patients with baseline corticosteroid use, reaffirming the potential of RZB to serve as a corticosteroid-sparing therapy for patients with ulcerative colitis. Clinicaltrial.gov numbers NCT03398148 and NCT03398135

Abstract Background Patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) who have ileal or any small bowel (SB) involvement are at increased risk of developing SB cancer. Due to the rarity of this complication of CD, we aimed to describe the clinical features, presentation, and of small bowel neoplasms (SBN) in patients with CD. Methods A case-control study was performed to include patients ≥18 years old with a diagnosis of CD with or without SBN at a single large referral center from January 1992 to May 2023. Patients were identified using bioinformatics and natural language processing tools, as well as anatomic pathology records. Two age- and sex-matched controls were identified for each case. Results In total, 54 patients with CD and SBN and 108 patients with CD without SBN were identified. Of the cases, most had ileal CD (55.6%) with stricturing (59.3%) phenotype. Median duration of CD prior to SBN diagnosis was 19.5 years. Nonpenetrating/nonstricturing behavior (odds ratio [OR], 9.23; 95% CI, 2.91-29.32; P = .0008) was significantly associated with an increased odds of SBN. History of tobacco use (OR, 0.27; 95% CI, 0.13-0.60; P = .0011) and IBD-associated colonic neoplasia (OR, 0.18; 95%, CI 0.4-0.85; P = .0303) were protective in development of SBN. Conclusions Nonpenetrating/nonstricturing CD appeared to raise SBN risk. History of tobacco use and colonic IBD-associated neoplasia are associated with reduced risk of SBN. Further studies with large sample sizes are needed to determine true incidence and risk factors associated with SBN in CD and assess potentially protective effects of early surgery.

Abstract Background Crohn’s disease (CD) treatment is associated with increased risks of infection and malignancies. Although the safety of certolizumab pegol (CZP) is well established, long-term data from community-based observational studies are lacking. Aim This study aimed to evaluate long-term safety outcomes of patients from the SECURE registry receiving CZP relative to other CD treatments, including corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, and biologics. The primary outcome of this observational study was the evaluation of malignancies. Methods Adult patients with CD were prospectively monitored for up to 8 years. Pre-specified data were collected for all enrolled patients. Adverse events of interest (AEoIs) were reported per 100 patient-years (PY) of exposure. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated for AEoIs using multivariate regression analysis accounting for exposure to multiple treatments. Malignancies reported after any exposure to CZP were attributed to CZP. Post-hoc analyses were conducted to evaluate non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), lymphoma, and pregnancy outcomes. Results A total of 3072 patients were enrolled in the study. The risk of AEoIs was similar between patients with only CZP exposure versus comparator exposure. Among patients with any CZP exposure, there was a higher frequency of serious infections (IRR: 2.56 [95% confidence interval (CI): 2.00, 3.29]) and hypersensitivity or anaphylactic reactions (IRR: 4.11 [95% CI: 1.80, 9.38]) versus patients with comparator exposure. Malignancy rates were similar across groups; however, concomitant use of thiopurines was associated with higher odds of NMSC (odds ratio: 2.30 [95% CI: 1.09, 4.89]). Most cases of lymphoma (5/7) occurred in patients with exposure to thiopurines. Pregnancy outcomes were similar across groups. Conclusions No new safety signals were identified for CZP; the use of thiopurines was identified as a risk factor for NMSC. Trial registration NCT00844285.

Abstract Background Vedolizumab (VDZ) is a gut selective, monoclonal anti-α4β7 integrin antibody approved for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn’s disease (CD) and is available in subcutaneous (SC) formulation. This analysis assessed the long-term safety outcomes of specific interest to the SC formulation of VDZ. Methods Patients (pts) who participated in VISIBLE 1 or VISIBLE 2 were eligible to enrol in VISIBLE OLE (NCT02620046). In VISIBLE 1, pts with UC were treated with placebo, VDZ SC or VDZ intravenous (IV). In VISIBLE 2, pts with CD were treated with placebo or VDZ SC. In VISIBLE OLE, pts received VDZ SC 108mg every 2 weeks (Q2W) or weekly. Pts received training on SC administration, and most injections were conducted at home by pt or caregiver. Safety of VDZ SC included assessing anti-VDZ antibody (AVA) status and injection site reaction (ISR) adverse events. Blood specimens for AVA assessment were collected 30 minutes before dosing every 16 weeks, at the final dose and the final safety visit 18 weeks after last dose. Data were assessed by treatment pts received during VISIBLE 1 and 2. Results Overall, 288 pts with UC and 458 pts with CD enrolled in VISIBLE OLE. A mean of 91.1 and 74.2 SC injections were completed by pts with UC and CD, respectively, during the OLE. Among pts with UC, the positive AVA rate was higher in pts previously treated with placebo (17.3%) than those treated with VDZ SC (3.4%) or IV (2.6%) (Table 1). The positive AVA rate was also higher among pts with CD previously treated with placebo (11.4%) than with VDZ SC (1.8%). A total of 14/288 pts (4.9%) with UC reported ISRs (Table 2), most of which were mild and none were serious. Two pts developed moderate ISRs; neither required dose modification and both were resolved. Overall, 19/458 pts (4.1%) with CD reported ISRs (Table 2). The majority of ISRs were mild, 2 were moderate and none were severe, and none required dose modification. No direct correlation between AVA status and ISRs was identified, with 11/14 pts (78.6%) with UC and 17/19 pts (89.5%) with CD who reported ISRs being AVA negative. All 5 pts who were AVA positive and reported an ISR had previously received placebo. The highest rate of ISRs were in pts who received placebo in VISIBLE 1 (13.5%). Conclusion No new long-term safety events were identified with the VDZ SC route of administration compared to IV, except for ISRs. A higher proportion of patients who had previously been treated with placebo than those treated with VDZ during VISIBLE 1 and 2 were AVA positive during VISIBLE OLE, supporting a benefit of continued therapy with VDZ SC after IV induction, rather than cessation of treatment for a period of time.

Abstract Background Vedolizumab (VDZ) is a gut selective, monoclonal anti-α4β7 integrin antibody approved for the treatment of moderate to severe ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn’s disease (CD). The subcutaneous (SC) formulation of VDZ was evaluated during the Phase 3 VISIBLE 1 and 2 studies. We report the long-term efficacy among patients (pts) with UC or CD treated with VDZ SC in the VISIBLE open-label extension (OLE) study. Methods Pts with UC or CD in VISIBLE 1/2 could enrol in VISIBLE OLE (NCT02620046). Pts in VISIBLE 1/2 who completed 52 weeks(W) of treatment with VDZ or placebo (randomised completers) and pts without clinical response at W6 who responded at W14 (non-randomised responders) received VDZ SC 108mg every 2W (Q2W) in the OLE. Pts with worsening disease were escalated to QW dosing. Clinical remission (partial Mayo score ≤2, no subscore >1 in UC; HBI score ≤4 in CD) up to W168 was assessed (pts with missing data or escalated to QW dosing were imputed as non-response, irrespective of clinical status). The number of pts who regained clinical response when escalated to QW dosing was also assessed. Results were summarized by prior VISIBLE 1/2 treatment groups. Results Data from 231 pts with UC and 344 pts with CD were included. In pts with UC, baseline OLE clinical remission rates were 55.0%, 91.3% and 77.1% among randomised completers (N=124) previously treated with placebo, VDZ SC and VDZ IV in VISIBLE 1, respectively. At W168, 40.0%, 56.5% and 62.9%, respectively, were in clinical remission on Q2W dosing. In non-randomised responders with UC (N=107), 57.0% were in clinical remission at baseline and 29.9% at W168 (Figure). In pts with CD, baseline OLE clinical remission rates were 60.3% and 62.0% among randomised completers (N=226) previously treated with placebo and VDZ SC in VISIBLE 2. At W168, 32.4% and 37.3% were in clinical remission on Q2W dosing. In non-randomised responders with CD (N=118), 57.6% were in clinical remission at baseline and 27.1% at W168 (Figure). In pts with UC escalated to QW dosing, 22.2% and 38.1% achieved clinical remission and response at W8 after transitioning to QW. Among pts with CD escalated to QW dosing, 38.6% and 53.5% achieved clinical remission and response by W8 after transitioning to QW. Higher rates of remission and response were noted in VDZ completers than non-randomised responders. No new long-term safety signals were noted with VDZ SC vs IV, except for injection site reactions. Conclusion The clinical benefit of VDZ SC was maintained long-term during VISIBLE OLE. A subset of pts who escalated to QW dosing regained response. Findings support VDZ SC as a treatment option for patients with UC or CD who require long-term maintenance therapy.

Abstract Background Upadacitinib (UPA) is an oral selective Janus kinase inhibitor approved for the management of moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease (CD). One in ten CD patients may need a permanent ostomy (colostomy or ileostomy) during their disease course, and this may impact the efficacy of UPA, given its extended-release formulation. However, there is no data available in this population since patients with an ostomy are excluded from registrational CD trials. This study addresses this gap by comparing the real-world clinical effectiveness of UPA in CD patients with and without ostomy. Methods This retrospective cohort study analyzed data from the TriNetX US Collaborative Network of sixty-eight tertiary institutions, to examine adult (≥18 years) CD patients treated with UPA from May 19th, 2023 (FDA approval date) to October 31st, 2024. Patients were categorized based on presence or absence of an ostomy during the previous 5 years, after exclusion of patients with rheumatologic disease indications for UPA usage. A 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to balance cohorts on demographics, baseline comorbidities, and CD severity indicators (CD phenotype, extraintestinal manifestations, concurrent corticosteroid and other biologics usage, hemoglobin, and body weight). Cox proportional hazards model estimated hazard ratios (HRs) in matched cohorts for clinical effectiveness as a composite outcome (corticosteroid use, hospitalizations, emergency room visits) and secondary individual outcomes, at one year post-treatment, with a significance threshold set at p < 0.05. Results The study sample of CD patients on UPA included 170 with and 1,428 without a prior ostomy. There were 144 patients in each cohort after PSM. Baseline characteristics of the cohorts are shown in Figure 1. After PSM (Figure 2), there were no significant differences between patients with CD on UPA, with and without prior ostomy, for composite outcomes (HR 0.93, p = 0.64), corticosteroid use (HR 0.78, p = 0.18), hospitalizations (HR 1.13, p = 0.64), or emergency room visits (HR 0.99, p = 0.97). Additionally, no significant differences were observed in opioid use (HR 0.95, p = 0.76), switch to another advanced therapy (HR 1.62, p = 0.06), or elevated biomarkers, including CRP (>10 mg/L, HR 1.00, p = 0.99) and fecal calprotectin (>150 µg/g, HR 0.85, p = 0.63) at the 1-year follow-up. Conclusion In CD patients, UPA demonstrated similar effectiveness for clinical outcomes of corticosteroid use, hospitalizations, emergency room visits and other secondary outcomes, regardless of their ostomy status.

Abstract Background Vedolizumab (VDZ) is a gut selective, monoclonal anti-α4β7 integrin antibody approved for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn’s disease (CD). The subcutaneous (SC) formulation of VDZ was evaluated during the Phase 3 VISIBLE 1 and 2 studies. This analysis reports hospitalisations and surgeries among patients (pts) with UC or CD treated with VDZ SC enrolled in the VISIBLE open-label extension (OLE) study. Methods Pts who participated in VISIBLE 1 or VISIBLE 2 were eligible to enrol in VISIBLE OLE (NCT02620046) and received VDZ SC 108mg every 2 weeks (Q2W) or weekly. Patients were grouped according to their scenario in VISIBLE 1/2: Pts who withdrew between week (W) 6 and W52 (Scenario 1); pts who completed 52 weeks of treatment with VDZ or placebo (Scenario 2); pts without a clinical response at W6 but who responded at W14 and were not randomised (Scenario 3). The proportions of patients who experienced UC or CD related hospitalisation and/or surgery during VISIBLE OLE were assessed by scenario and treatment received during VISIBLE 1/2. Results A total of 288 pts with UC and 458 with CD enrolled in the VISIBLE OLE. The mean (min., max.) duration of VDZ exposure during VISIBLE OLE was 1276.7 days (127, 2577 days) among pts with UC and 1110.0 days (127, 2770 days) among pts with CD. The proportions of pts who had a UC or CD related hospitalisation or surgery during VISIBLE OLE are displayed in Table 1. Across all scenarios, a total of 8.3% (24/288) of pts with UC had a related hospitalisation. In total, 3/288 pts (1.0%) with UC (from Scenarios 1 and 3) had a colectomy. No pts with UC from Scenario 2 had a colectomy. Among pts with CD, a total of 13.1% (60/458) had a related hospitalisation. A total of 19 pts (4.1%) with CD had bowel surgery. Higher rates of IBD related hospitalisations and surgeries were observed in Scenario 1, both in pts with UC and with CD. Conclusion Findings from VISIBLE OLE showed that few pts with UC and CD treated with long-term VDZ SC required IBD related hospitalisations over the course of the study. Notably, very few patients with UC or CD required colectomies or bowel surgery.

Abstract Background Long-term use of corticosteroids (CS) is a concern for patients with Crohn’s disease (CD), as prolonged use is associated with increased mortality and adverse outcomes. Upadacitinib (UPA), an oral, selective, reversible Janus kinase inhibitor, is approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe CD and demonstrated CS-sparing efficacy, with a consistent safety profile through maintenance week (wk) 52.1-4 Here, we evaluated the long-term efficacy of UPA in achieving CS-free clinical and endoscopic outcomes in patients enrolled in the ongoing U-ENDURE long-term extension (LTE) study. Methods Patients who completed the U-ENDURE 52-wk maintenance study were eligible for the subsequent LTE study wherein they continued their previously assigned treatment (once daily UPA 15 mg [UPA15] or UPA 30 mg [UPA30]). Efficacy was assessed from LTE wk 0-wk48, among patients with 2 year (yr) (100 wk) of total maintenance therapy, within the overall population and in patients with baseline CS use (induction wk 0). CS-free endpoints (without CS use for ≥90 days before evaluation), included clinical remission (per stool frequency/abdominal pain score [SF/APS] and CD Activity Index [CDAI]), endoscopic response, and endoscopic remission, were evaluated using both as-observed and nonresponder imputation (NRI) methods, with NRI analysis presented in text. Safety was not evaluated here but was reported previously.3 Results Among patients with 2 yr of total maintenance therapy, 35.7% (87/244) received CS at baseline, with 13.1% (32/244) receiving CS at any time during the LTE study regardless of baseline CS use. Among patients taking baseline CS and those who received CS at any time during the LTE study (n=20), the median (range) time of CS use was 127.5 (2-1589) days. CS-free clinical remission was achieved at LTE wk 0 and wk 48 per SF/APS (overall population: UPA15, 71.7%, 58.9%; UPA30, 81.8%, 57.7%; patients with baseline CS use: UPA15, 71.8%, 53.8%; UPA30, 79.2%, 54.2%, NRI, Fig.1A-B) and CDAI criteria (overall population: UPA15, 74.8%, 60.7%; UPA30, 83.9%, 65.0%; patients with baseline CS use: UPA15, 74.4%, 56.4%; UPA30, 81.3%, 58.3%, NRI, Fig.1C-D). At LTE wk 48, a high fraction of UPA-treated patients achieved CS-free endoscopic response (overall population: UPA15, 48.6%; UPA30, 55.5%; patients with baseline CS use: UPA15, 38.5%; UPA30, 60.4%, NRI) and CS-free endoscopic remission (overall population: UPA15, 33.6%; UPA30, 46.0%; patients with baseline CS use: UPA15, 28.2%; UPA30, 54.2%, NRI, Fig.2). Conclusion Patients with moderate-to-severe CD who received long-term UPA maintenance treatment sustained high rates of CS-free clinical and endoscopic outcomes, suggesting that UPA may serve as an effective long-term CS-sparing therapy. References 1.RINVOQ [package insert], extended-release tablets, FDA Prescribing Information. AbbVie Inc; 2022. Accessed 1 June 2022.2. 2.RINVOQ [package insert], prolonged-release tablets. EMA Summary of Product Characteristics. AbbVie; 2022. Accessed 1 June 2022. 3.Loftus EV and Panes J et al. N Engl J Med 2023;388:1966-1980. J 4.M C Dubinsky, et al. JCC, 17; (Supp_1); 2023: i104–i106.

Abstract Background The SEQUENCE trial, in bio-exposed Crohn's disease (CD) patients, demonstrated non-inferiority for clinical remission at 24 weeks and superiority for endoscopic remission at week 48 for risankizumab (RZB) compared to ustekinumab (UST). However, this comparison has not been adequately explored in bio-naive CD patients. Our study aimed to compare the clinical effectiveness among bio-naive CD patients treated with RZB vs. UST in a real-world setting, using data from a US-based multicenter cohort. Methods This retrospective cohort study utilized data from the TriNetX US Collaborative Network, comprising sixty-eight tertiary institutions, to examine adult (≥18 years) bio-naive CD patients initiated on RZB or UST from June 17th, 2022 (FDA approval date) to October 31st, 2024. Patients with prior advanced therapy usage and those with approved rheumatologic disease indications for RZB/UST were excluded. A 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was conducted to balance cohorts on demographics, baseline comorbidities, and indicators of CD severity, including CD phenotype, extraintestinal manifestations, concurrent corticosteroid use, hemoglobin, and body weight. Cox proportional hazards models estimated hazard ratios (HRs) in matched cohorts for one-year post-treatment composite outcomes (need for corticosteroids, hospitalizations, emergency room visits, surgeries) with a priori significance threshold of p < 0.05. Results The study sample included 1,630 bio-naive CD patients treated with RZB and 3,105 with UST. Among patients on UST, 658 (21%) were dosed every four to six weeks, after the first dose. Baseline characteristics of the PSM RZB and UST cohorts are shown in Table 1 with 1,568 patients in each cohort. After PSM (Figure 1), there were no significant differences in composite outcome (HR 1.077, p = 0.170), corticosteroid use (HR 1.099, p = 0.110), CD-related surgery (HR 1.231, p = 0.284), hospitalization (HR 0.947, p = 0.615) or ER visits (HR 1.041, p = 0.687). Additionally, no significant differences were observed in opioid use (HR 1.062, p = 0.366), switch to different advanced therapy (HR 1.097, p = 0.468) or elevated disease biomarkers, including CRP (>10mg/l, HR 1.186 p = 0.101) or fecal calprotectin (>150 µg/g; HR 1.109, p = 0.407) at 1-year follow-up. Conclusion In this real-world experience allowing for drug optimization, no difference was observed in bio naïve patients between UST and RZB as far as clinical remission and progression of CD.