Intravenous Versus Subcutaneous Anti-TNF-Alpha Agents for Crohn's Disease: A Comparison of Effectiveness and Safety

Capturing the holistic value of biosimilars in Europe - part 1: a historical perspective

INTRODUCTION

Approved biosimilars exhibit comparable efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity to reference products. This report provides perspectives on the societal value of biosimilars within Europe and potential factors that have influenced market dynamics.

METHODS

An independent, self-administered survey or one-on-one in-depth interview was used to collect viewpoints about the impact of biosimilar medicines within European markets. Key insights were also sought from an expert panel of European stakeholders.

RESULTS

Survey respondents were clinicians, pharmacists, and payers from Europe (N = 103). Perceived benefits of biosimilars included increased access to innovative medicines (73% of respondents) or biologic treatments (66%). Biosimilar competition was thought to expand access to biologics (~50% of respondents) or drug combinations (~36%) and reduce biologic access time (34%). Key drivers of biologic access after biosimilar competition included increased biologic awareness (51%) and changes to prescribing guidelines (37%) and/or treatment paradigms (28%). The expert panel developed a market maturity framework of biosimilar adoption/opportunities comprising three stages: 'Invest,' 'Expand,' and 'Harvest.' Findings were supported by published literature.

CONCLUSIONS

In Europe, the perceptions of well-informed survey/interview respondents are that biosimilars have improved patient outcomes via increased access to biologics and innovative biologic products, contributing to earlier and longer treatment of a broader population.

Management of Non-response and Loss of Response to Anti-tumor Necrosis Factor Therapy in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy has been successfully used as first-line biologic treatment for moderate-to-severe inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), in both “step-up” and “top-down” approaches, and has become a cornerstone of IBD management. However, in a proportion of patients the effectiveness of anti-TNF therapy is sub-optimal. Either patients do not achieve adequate initial response (primary non-response) or they lose response after initial success (loss of response). Therapeutic drug monitoring determines drug serum concentrations and the presence of anti-drug antibodies (ADAbs) and can help guide treatment optimization to improve patient outcomes. For patients with low drug concentrations who are ADAb-negative or display low levels of ADAbs, dose escalation is recommended. Should response remain unchanged following dose optimization the question whether to switch within class (anti-TNF) or out of class (different mechanism of action) arises. If ADAb levels are high and the patient has previously benefited from anti-TNF therapy, then switching within class is a viable option as ADAbs are molecule specific. Addition of an immunomodulator may lead to a decrease in ADAbs and a regaining of response in a proportion of patients. If a patient does not achieve a robust therapeutic response with an initial anti-TNF despite adequate drug levels, then switching out of class is appropriate. In conjunction with the guidance above, other factors including patient preference, age, comorbidities, disease phenotype, extra-intestinal manifestations, and treatment costs need to be factored into the treatment decision. In this review we discuss current evidence in this field and provide guidance on therapeutic decision-making in clinical situations.

Is There a Risk of Lymphoma Associated With Anti-tumor Necrosis Factor Drugs in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease? A Systematic Review of Observational Studies

Background: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are generally not considered a risk factor for the development of lymphoma. When considering IBD treatments, there is good evidence supporting thiopurines (azathioprine, 6-mercaptopurine) as a risk factor for lymphoma. Conversely, the association between the use of anti-TNF agents and the development of lymphoma remains undetermined. In this systematic review, we analyzed the evidence coming from observational studies supporting an association between the use of anti-TNF drugs and lymphoma in patients with IBDs.

Methods: This systematic review was performed according with MOOSE and PRISMA statements. We searched observational studies conducted on IBD patients, using MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Google Scholar, published in English language, within the period ranging from January 1st, 1999 to June 30th, 2018. An assessment of the methodologic shortcomings of selected studies was performed as well.

Results: Fourteen studies met the eligibility criteria and were included in the review. Only four studies found a significant association of anti-TNF drug with lymphoma or groups of cancers including lymphoma. However, the methodologic shortcomings of all the included studies made their results unreliable, irrespectively of whether their findings supported an association or not.

Conclusions: Current evidence from observational studies does not allow excluding or confirming an association of the exposure to anti-TNF treatments with lymphoma in IBD patients.

Risk of Serious Bacterial Infection Associated With Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha Inhibitors in Children and Young Adults With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

BACKGROUND

Prior studies evaluating the relationship between tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors (TNFI) and infection were conducted in adults and had conflicting findings. We sought to examine the risk of serious infection associated with TNFIs compared with nonbiologic immunomodulators in children and young adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and to compare the risk among individual TNFIs.

METHODS

We conducted a cohort study using the Truven MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters database of patients age <30 years with a diagnosis of IBD who initiated treatment with a TNFI or immunomodulator (thiopurines or methotrexate) between 2009 and 2013. The outcome of interest was serious infection, defined as a nongastrointestinal bacterial infection requiring hospitalization. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for serious infection associated with TNFIs compared with immunomodulators.

RESULTS

We identified 10,838 children and young adults with IBD; 236 and 192 cases of serious infection were observed in 4502 TNFI initiators (5.25/100 person-years) and 6336 immunomodulator initiators (3.59/100 person-years), respectively. Compared with immunomodulators, TNFIs were associated with a higher risk of serious infection (HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.08-1.72). Among TNFI users, certolizumab showed a 3.38-fold (95% CI, 2.25-5.09) increased risk vs infliximab, and subcutaneously administered TNFIs also exhibited a higher risk (HR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.18-1.53) than intravenous TNFIs.

CONCLUSIONS

TNFIs pose a higher risk of serious infection compared with immunomodulators in children and young adults with IBD, and this risk differs among individual TNFIs and routes of administration.

Population-based cohort study on comparative effectiveness and safety of biologics in inflammatory bowel disease

Background

The comparison of effectiveness and safety of anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha agents for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is relevant for clinical practice and stakeholders.

Objective

The objective of this study was to compare the risk of abdominal surgery, steroid utilization, and hospitalization for infection in Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) patients newly treated with infliximab (IFX) or adalimumab (ADA).

Methods

A retrospective population-based cohort study was performed using health information systems data from Lazio region, Italy. Patients with CD or UC diagnosis were enrolled at first prescription of IFX or ADA during 2008–2014 (index date). Only new drug users were followed for 2 years from the index date. IFX versus ADA adjusted hazard ratios were calculated applying “intention-to-treat” approach, controlling for several characteristics and stratifying the analysis on steroid use according to previous drug utilization. Sensitivity analyses were performed according to “as-treated” approach, adjusting for propensity score, censoring at switching or discontinuation, and evaluating different lengths of follow-up periods.

Results

We enrolled 1,432 IBD patients (42% and 83% exposed to IFX for CD and UC, respectively). In both diseases, treatment effects did not differ in any outcome considered, and sensitivity analyses confirmed the results from the main analysis.

Conclusion

In our population-based cohort study, effectiveness and safety data in new users of ADA or IFX with CD or UC were comparable for the outcomes we tested.

Infliximab Versus Adalimumab in the Treatment of Refractory Inflammatory Uveitis: A Multicenter Study From the French Uveitis Network

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the factors associated with response to anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) treatment and compare the efficacy and safety of infliximab (IFX) and adalimumab (ADA) in patients with refractory noninfectious uveitis.

METHODS

This was a multicenter observational study of 160 patients (39% men and 61% women; median age 31 years [interquartile range 21-42]) with uveitis that had been refractory to other therapies, who were treated with anti-TNF (IFX 5 mg/kg at weeks 0, 2, 6, and then every 5-6 weeks [n = 98] or ADA 40 mg every 2 weeks [n = 62]). Factors associated with complete response were assessed by multivariate analysis. Efficacy and safety of IFX versus ADA were compared using a propensity score approach with baseline characteristics taken into account. Subdistribution hazard ratios (SHRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated.

RESULTS

The main etiologies of uveitis included Behçet's disease (BD) (36%), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (22%), spondyloarthropathy (10%), and sarcoidosis (6%). The overall response rate at 6 and 12 months was 87% (26% with complete response) and 93% (28% with complete response), respectively. The median time to complete response was 2 months. In multivariate analysis, BD and occurrence of >5 uveitis flares before anti-TNF initiation were associated with complete response to anti-TNF (SHR 2.52 [95% CI 1.35-4.71], P = 0.004 and SHR 1.97 [95% CI 1.02-3.84], P = 0.045, respectively). Side effects were reported in 28% of patients, including serious adverse events in 13%. IFX and ADA did not differ significantly in terms of occurrence of complete response (SHR 0.65 [95% CI 0.25-1.71], P = 0.39), serious side effects (SHR 0.22 [95% CI 0.04-1.25], P = 0.089), or event-free survival (SHR 0.55 [95% CI 0.28-1.08], P = 0.083).

CONCLUSION

Anti-TNF treatment is highly effective in refractory inflammatory uveitis. BD is associated with increased odds of response. IFX and ADA appear to be equivalent in terms of efficacy.

Anti-TNF therapy in the management of ocular attacks in an elderly patient with long-standing Behçet's disease

BACKGROUND

Ocular symptoms in Behçet's disease (BD) begin mostly before 30 years of age according to international surveys, and BD activity may decrease with age. Information regarding the treatment of ocular symptoms in elderly BD patients is thus scant. Anti-TNFα antibody has recently demonstrated strong effects against recurrent uveitis in BD, but the efficacy and safety of anti-TNFα therapy in elderly patients remain unclear. We report herein the case of an elderly patient with long-standing uveitis due to BD who was successfully treated with two types of anti-TNF therapy.

CASE

An 81-year-old Japanese man presented with a 33-year history of ocular inflammation due to BD. As immunosuppressive agents, such as cyclosporine A, were difficult to use because he had undergone removal of the left kidney due to cancer, he was treated with colchicine. However, attacks of ocular inflammation persisted around nine times a year. After colchicine had been changed to infliximab, ocular inflammation was fairly well controlled, but ocular attacks still occurred once or twice a year. As soon as intestinal hemorrhage related to BD occurred, infliximab was switched to adalimumab. After this switch, ocular attacks resolved and visual acuity was maintained at 1.0. Intestinal lesions were also well controlled, and no side effects were seen.

CONCLUSION

This represents the first report of the application of two types of anti-TNFα therapy for ocular attacks in an elderly BD patient. In addition to infliximab, adalimumab appears to offer an alternative therapy for refractory, long-standing BD-related uveitis in elderly patients.

Do tumor necrosis factor inhibitors increase cancer risk in patients with chronic immune-mediated inflammatory disorders?

Inhibition of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) activity has profoundly changed the management of several immune-mediated inflammatory diseases with great benefit for patients. The application of TNF inhibitors (TNFi), however, also brings a new concern, malignancy. We performed a systemic review to collect the studies reporting cancer incidences and risks in TNFi users regardless of indications. TNFi were most frequently used in treating patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In RA patients without prior cancer history, the incidences of malignancies ranged from the lowest rate 0 per 1000 person-years in etanercept users regarding lymphoma to the highest rate 35.62 per 1000 person-years in adalimumab users on non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), while in those patients with prior cancer history, the recurrent incidences of malignancies ranged from the lowest rate 5.05 per 1000 person-years regarding melanoma to the highest rate 63.20 per 1000 person-years on basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in TNFi users. In IBD patients, incidences ranged from 0 per 1000 person-years in TNFi users on lymphoma to 34.0 per 1000 person-years in infliximab users on overall cancer. However, these incidence rates of overall cancer, lymphoma and melanoma were not higher in comparison with those patients who were not treated with TNFi. Compared to general population, incidences of lymphoma were elevated in RA patients and rates of NMSC were higher in patients with psoriasis, RA and IBD. In conclusion, cancer incidences vary across different studies, indications, cancer types and studies with different individual TNFi. Treatment with TNFi is not associated with increased malignant risks of overall cancer, lymphoma or melanoma. Results of NMSC risk were inconsistent among studies. A latest prospective registry study demonstrated a small increased risk of squamous cell cancer in RA patients treated with TNFi (one additional case for every 1600years of treatment experience). Further prospective studies are needed to verify whether TNFi users have higher NMSC risk than non-TNFi users.