VIDEO: Cimzia data provides ‘reassuring’ pregnancy outcomes for rheumatic disease, IBD

AMSTERDAM — The use of certolizumab pegol for rheumatic diseases or inflammatory bowel disease during pregnancy is not associated with an increased risk of major congenital malformations or fetal death compared to the general population, according to data presented at the EULAR Annual Congress.

“When we look at outcomes for this group of pregnancies, we see that the outcomes are the same as the general population,” Megan E.B. Clowse, MD, MPH, from the division of rheumatology and immunology at Duke University, told Healio Rheumatology. “We see that preterm birth occurred in about 12% of all live births and that is approximately the same as the general population; additionally, we see that overall pregnancy loss was quite low – 9% miscarriages and 1% stillbirths which are the same numbers you would see in the general population as well.”

She noted that “This study was very reassuring and goes hand-in-hand with previously published data suggesting no placental transfer and no transfer into breast milk, and as well as new findings that pregnancy outcomes were comparable to the general population —I think that both providers and patients can really feel confident about this data.”