Ulcerative Colitis

If you see more than a few patients with inflammatory bowel disease, you likely already have been asked by a third-party payer to switch a patient’s adalimumab prescription from the reference product to a biosimilar.

The age of biosimilars has come for gastroenterology. This includes interchangeable products, three of which are now on the market. How this will impact patient care in the near and distant future is the subject of much speculation.

Induction and maintenance treatment with infliximab was more efficacious than vedolizumab in patients with Crohn’s disease, while efficacy was similar between the two therapies in patients with ulcerative colitis, according to data.

Female sex, smoking, Crohn’s disease and a history of surgery to treat inflammatory bowel disease were associated with an increased risk for developing extraintestinal manifestations of disease, according to research in Gastroenterology.

In a Healio video exclusive, Sneha Dave, recaps a roundtable series presented by the Crohn’s and Colitis Young Adults Network, which encourages young adults with inflammatory bowel disease to discuss gaps and opportunities in research.

In a Healio video exclusive, Edward V. Loftus Jr., MD, discusses data he presented at the GUILD Conference, which show patients with inflammatory bowel disease are at increased risk for cardiovascular events, likely driven by inflammation.

A 12-point plan from the AGA proposed ways in which collaboration between the health care community, insurers, pharmaceutical companies and legislators can improve “fixable problems” affecting patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Treatment with Stelara for inflammatory bowel disease did not increase the risk for adverse maternal or fetal pregnancy outcomes, and infants exposed in utero reached developmental milestones in the first year of life, data showed.

In this Healio video exclusive, Michael V. Chiorean, MD, explains that physicians can safely and “with confidence” switch patients with inflammatory bowel disease from an originator biologic to a biosimilar at any point during treatment.

Anita Afzali, MD, MPH, FACG, executive vice chair of medicine and professor of clinical medicine at University of Cincinnati College of Medicine,  spoke with Healio about ulcerative colitis.