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Background: The Stool Frequency (SF) and Abdominal Pain (AP) items from the Crohn's Disease Activity Index are together referred to as the "Patient Reported Outcome" (PRO). The SF item measures the number of very soft/liquid stools and the AP item measures abdominal pain severity, which are common Crohn's disease (CD) symptoms that patients consider important to treat. This study evaluated the psychometric properties of both PRO items separately and estimated thresholds for clinical remission in moderately to severely active CD., Methods: The measurement properties of the PRO items were analyzed using pooled data from VIVID-1 (NCT03926130), a Phase 3, randomized, placebo- and active-controlled study in adults with moderately to severely active CD. Analyses used weekly average scores of the SF and AP items at Weeks 0 (Baseline), 4, 12, and 52. Remission thresholds were estimated using the Patient Global Rating of Severity (PGRS) and Patient Global Impression of Change (PGIC) as primary anchors as well as qualitative evidence from exit interviews., Results: Data from 1065 participants (mean age: 36.2 years [standard deviation: 13 years]) were analyzed. During the trial, scores improved for both PRO items. Both items demonstrated moderate-to-good test-retest reliability for participants defined as stable based on PGRS and PGIC. Most correlations of related assessments were moderate (0.30≤|ρ| <0.70) with SF and moderate-to-large (0.30≤|ρ| ≤0.90) with AP. By contrast, as anticipated, both items had weak correlations (|ρ| <0.30) with endoscopic and laboratory assessments. The PRO items could discriminate between groups of participants known to differ based on other assessments. The PRO items were able to detect change, as score changes in both items between Baseline and Weeks 12 and 52 differed significantly between most PGRS and PGIC categories. Anchor-based analyses combined with responses from the exit interviews suggested that an SF score of ≤ 3 and an AP score of ≤ 1 could together represent clinical remission., Conclusion: These results support the reliability, construct-validity, and responsiveness of both PRO items in moderately to severely active CD and confirm previously suggested scores for both items that could represent clinical remission., Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT03926130. Registered 23 April 2019, https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT03926130 ., Competing Interests: Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: The study was compliant with the Declaration of Helsinki and Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences International Ethical guidelines and the International Conference on Harmonization guidelines on Good Clinical Practice. All informed consent forms and protocols were approved by appropriate ethical review boards before initiation of the study. All participants provided written informed consent before any study procedures were performed and before study drug administration. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Competing interests: JDL consulted or served on an advisory board for AbbVie, Amgen, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Bridge Biotherapeutics, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Eli Lilly and Company, Entasis Therapeutics, Galapagos, Gilead, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Samsung Bioepis, Merck, Nestle Health Science, UCB, Pfizer, Protagonist Therapeutics, Sanofi, and Scipher Medicine. He has had research funding from Nestle Health Science, Takeda, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and AbbVie. He has had educational grants from Takeda and Janssen. He has performed legal work on behalf of generic manufacturers of ranitidine and 3 M. He owns stock in Dark Canyon Labs. AV, S Su, and FD are employees and shareholders of Eli Lilly and Company. XZ is an employee of Syneos Health, which received funding from Eli Lilly and Company in connection with this study. AKK, LS, and CC are employees of Evidera, which received funding from Eli Lilly and Company in connection with this study. S Schreiber has been a consultant for AbbVie, Amgen, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celltrion, Dr Falk Pharma, Ferring, Fresenius, Galapagos, Genentech, GSK, Gilead, I-MAB Biopharma, Janssen, Eli Lilly and Company, Merck, Novartis-Sandoz, Pfizer, Protagonist, Takeda, and Theravance., (© 2025. The Author(s).)

Background: There is a need for efficacious therapies for patients with Crohn's disease that are better tolerated and more durable than available treatments. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of filgotinib, an oral Janus kinase 1 preferential inhibitor, for treating Crohn's disease., Methods: This phase 3, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in 371 centres in 39 countries. Eligible patients were aged 18-75 years with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease for at least 3 months before enrolment. Patients were enrolled into one of two induction studies on the basis of their experience with biological agents (induction study A included biologic-naive and later biologic-experienced patients and induction study B included biologic-experienced patients). In both induction studies, patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1), using an interactive web response system, to receive oral filgotinib 200 mg, filgotinib 100 mg, or placebo once daily for 11 weeks. Patients who received filgotinib and had two-item patient-reported outcome (PRO2) clinical remission or an endoscopic response at week 10 were re-randomised (2:1) to receive their induction dose or placebo orally, once daily to the end of week 58 in the maintenance study. Co-primary endpoints were PRO2 clinical remission and an endoscopic response at week 10 (induction studies) and week 58 (maintenance study). PRO2 clinical remission was defined as an abdominal pain subscore of not more than 1 and a liquid or very soft stool frequency subscore of not more than 3 (from eDiary data) and endoscopic response was defined as a reduction of at least 50% in Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn's disease from induction baseline (from central reading of endoscopy). For the induction studies, efficacy was assessed in all randomly assigned patients who received at least one dose of study drug. For the maintenance study, efficacy was assessed in all patients from either filgotinib treatment group in the induction studies who reached PRO2 clinical remission or an endoscopic response at week 10, and who were re-randomised and received at least one dose of study drug in the maintenance study. Patients who received placebo throughout the induction and maintenance studies were not included in the full analysis set for the maintenance study. Safety was assessed in all patients who received at least one dose of study drug. This trial is complete and is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02914561., Findings: Between Oct 31, 2016, and Nov 11, 2022, 2634 patients were screened, of whom 1372 were enrolled (induction study A: n=707, induction study B: n=665, and maintenance study: n=481). There were 346 (49%) women and 358 (51%) men in induction study A, 356 (54%) women and 303 (46%) men in induction study B, and 242 women (51%) and 236 men (49%) in the maintenance study. Significantly more patients had PRO2 clinical remission at week 10 with filgotinib 200 mg than with placebo in induction study B (29·7% vs 17·9%, difference 11·9%; 95% CI 3·7 to 20·2, p=0·0039) but not induction study A (32·9% vs 25·7%, 6·9%; -1·4 to 15·2, p=0·0963); there was no significant difference for endoscopic response (induction study A: 23·9% vs 18·1%, difference 5·5%; 95% CI -2·0 to 12·9, p=0·1365; induction study B: 11·9% vs 11·4%, 0·1%; -6·5 to 6·6, p=0·9797). At week 58, both co-primary endpoints were reported in greater proportions of patients who received filgotinib 200 mg than in those who received placebo (PRO2 clinical remission: 43·8% vs 26·4%, difference 16·8%; 95% CI 2·0 to 31·6, p=0·0382; endoscopic response: 30·4% vs 9·4%, difference 20·6%; 95% CI 8·2 to 33·1, p=0·0038). Co-primary endpoints were not met for filgotinib 100 mg in any study. In the induction studies, the most frequently reported treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs; ≥5% of patients in any group) were abdominal pain; arthralgia; an exacerbation, flare, or worsening of Crohn's disease; headache; nasopharyngitis; nausea; and pyrexia. In the maintenance study, the most frequently reported TEAEs (≥5% of patients in any filgotinib or associated placebo group) were those reported in the induction studies (except for headache) and abdominal distension, upper abdominal pain, anaemia, and flatulence. Serious TEAEs were reported in 49 patients in induction study A (18 [8%]) of 222 patients in the filgotinib 200 mg group, 16 [7%] of 245 patients in the filgotinib 100 mg group, and 15 [6%] of 237 patients in the placebo group), 81 patients in induction study B (19 [9%] of 202 patients in the filgotinib 200 mg group, 36 [16%] of 228 patients in the filgotinib 100 mg group, and 26 [11%] of 229 patients in the placebo group), and 49 patients in the maintenance study (13 [11%] of 118 patients in the filgotinib 200 mg-filgotinib 200 mg group, five [9%] of 56 patients in the filgotinib 200 mg-placebo group, 14 [13%] of 104 patients in the filgotinib 100 mg-filgotinib 100 mg group, three [5%] of 55 patients in the filgotinib 100 mg-placebo group, and 14 [10%] of 145 patients in the placebo-placebo group). No deaths were reported during the induction and maintenance studies., Interpretation: Filgotinib 200 mg did not meet the co-primary endpoints of clinical remission and an endoscopic response at week 10, but did meet the co-primary endpoints at week 58. Filgotinib treatment was well tolerated, and no new safety signals were reported., Funding: Galapagos., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests SV reports consulting and/or speaker fees from AbbVie, Abivax, AbolerIS Pharma, AgomAb Therapeutics, Alimentiv, Arena Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, Biora Therapeutics (formerly Progenity), Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Cytoki Pharma, Dr Falk Pharma, Eli Lilly, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Galapagos, Genentech/Roche, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Hospira, IMIDomics, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, Materia Prima, Mestag Therapeutics, MiroBio, Morphic Therapeutic, MRM Health, MSD, Mundipharma, Pfizer, ProDigest, Prometheus Biosciences, Robarts Clinical Trials, Surrozen, Takeda, Theravance Biopharma, Tillotts Pharma, VectivBio, Ventyx Biosciences, and Zealand Pharma; grants from AbbVie, Galapagos, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Takeda; and participation on a data safety monitoring board for Sanofi. SV is Professor of Medicine at KU Leuven. SS reports consulting fees from AbbVie, Amgen, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Biogen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Celltrion, Dr Falk Pharma, Eli Lilly, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Fresenius Kabi, Galapagos/Gilead Sciences, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, I-Mab, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Morphic Therapeutic, MSD, Mylan, Pfizer, Protagonist Therapeutics, Provention Bio, Sandoz/Hexal, Takeda, Theravance Biopharma, and Ventyx Biosciences. DTR reports consulting fees from AbbVie, AltruBio, Amgen, Avalo Therapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, Buhlmann Diagnostics Corp, Chronicles Health, ClostraBio, Connect Biopharma, Cytoki Pharma, Douglas Pharmaceuticals, EcoR1, Eli Lilly, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Image Analysis Group, InDex Pharmaceuticals, Iterative Health, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Odyssey Therapeutics, Pfizer, Prometheus Biosciences, Reistone Biopharma, Samsung NeuroLogica, Sangamo Therapeutics, Shanghai Pharma Biotherapeutics USA, Takeda, TISSIUM, and Trellus Health; and grants from Takeda. GD'H reports consulting fees from AbbVie, Alimentiv, AstraZeneca, Biora Therapeutics (formerly Progenity), Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celltrion, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, GSK, Immunic Therapeutics, and Ventyx Biosciences; grants from AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Takeda; participation on a data safety monitoring board or advisory board for AstraZeneca and Seres Health; and speaker fees from AbbVie, Biogen, Galapagos, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Takeda, and Tillotts Pharma. WR reports consulting fees from AbbVie, Amgen, AOP Health (formerly AOP Orphan), Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Calyx, Celltrion, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, Gilead Sciences, InDex Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, MEDahead, Microbiotica, Pfizer, and Takeda; participation on an advisory board for AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celltrion, Galapagos, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Pfizer; research funding from AbbVie, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Sandoz, Sanofi, and Takeda; and speaker fees from AbbVie, Celltrion, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Galapagos, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, MEDICE, MSD, Pfizer, Roche, Sobi, and Takeda. MW reports consulting fees from AbbVie, EA Pharma, Eli Lilly Japan, Gilead Sciences, and Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim; grants from AbbVie, EA Pharma, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Nippon Kayaku, Takeda, and Zeria Pharmaceutical; and speaker fees from EA Pharma, Eli Lilly Japan, Gilead Sciences, Kyorin Pharmaceutical, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Miyarisan, Mochida Pharmaceutical, Takeda, and Zeria Pharmaceutical. XR reports personal fees from AbbVie, Amgen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celltrion, Eli Lilly, Galapagos, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, MSD, Pfizer, Takeda, and Theradiag. IB reports consulting fees from Galapagos, Gilead Sciences, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Pharmacosmos, Takeda, and Vifor Pharma. TH reports consulting fees from Aspen Japan, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celltrion, EA Pharma, Eli Lilly, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Gilead Sciences, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Kissei Pharmaceutical, Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical, Nippon Kayaku, and Pfizer; and grants from AbbVie, IMRO, Kyorin, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, Mochida Pharmaceutical, Otsuka Holdings, Takeda, and Zeria Pharmaceutical. IH reports speaker fees from Abbott, GSK, Sandoz, and Takeda. TR reports personal fees from AbbVie, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, Gossamer Bio, Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Prometheus, and Takeda. MCG was an employee of Gilead Sciences at the time of the work. PK is an employee and shareholder of, and owns stocks or stock options of Gilead Sciences. ES is an employee and shareholder of Galapagos. F-OLB is a former employee and shareholder of Galapagos and an employee of Alfasigma. RB was an employee of Galapagos at the time of the work. TM was an employee of Galapagos at the time of the work, and is now an employee of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals. SD reports consulting fees from AbbVie, Allergan, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Athos Therapeutics, Biogen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Celltrion, Eli Lilly, Enthera, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Gilead Sciences, Hospira, Inotrem, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, MSD, Mundipharma, Mylan, Pfizer, Roche, Sandoz, Sublimity Therapeutics, Takeda, TiGenix, UCB, and Vifor Pharma; and speaker fees from AbbVie, Amgen, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Gilead Sciences, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Mylan, Pfizer, and Takeda. RM and PG report no competing interests., (Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background & Aims: CT-P13 subcutaneous (SC), an SC formulation of the intravenous (IV) infliximab biosimilar CT-P13 IV, creates a unique exposure profile. The LIBERTY studies aimed to demonstrate superiority of CT-P13 SC vs placebo as maintenance therapy in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC)., Methods: Two randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind studies were conducted in patients with moderately to severely active CD or UC and inadequate response or intolerance to corticosteroids and immunomodulators. All patients received open-label CT-P13 IV 5 mg/kg at weeks 0, 2, and 6. At week 10, clinical responders were randomized (2:1) to CT-P13 SC 120 mg or placebo every 2 weeks until week 54 (maintenance phase) using prefilled syringes. (Co-) primary end points were clinical remission and endoscopic response (CD) and clinical remission (UC) at week 54 (all-randomized population)., Results: Overall, 396 patients with CD and 548 patients with UC received induction treatment. At week 54 in the CD study, statistically significant higher proportions of CT-P13 SC-treated patients vs placebo-treated patients achieved clinical remission (62.3% vs 32.1%; P < .0001) and endoscopic response (51.1% vs 17.9%; P < .0001). In the UC study, clinical remission rates at week 54 were statistically significantly higher with CT-P13 SC vs placebo (43.2% vs 20.8%; P < .0001). Achievement of key secondary end points was significantly higher with CT-P13 SC vs placebo across both studies. CT-P13 SC was well tolerated, with no new safety signals identified., Conclusions: CT-P13 SC was more effective than placebo as maintenance therapy and was well tolerated in patients with moderately to severely active CD or UC who responded to CT-P13 IV induction., Clinicaltrials: gov, Numbers: NCT03945019 (CD) and NCT04205643 (UC)., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Risankizumab is efficacious and well tolerated in adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease (CD)., Aim: To evaluate the corticosteroid-sparing effect of risankizumab in CD., Methods: During the 12-week induction period, patients maintained stable baseline corticosteroid doses, up to 20 mg/day prednisone or equivalent. At week 0 of maintenance, a mandatory corticosteroid taper was started. This post hoc analysis evaluated corticosteroid-free clinical and endoscopic outcomes at week 52 of maintenance; safety was also assessed., Results: Of 889 patients randomised to induction with risankizumab 600 mg or placebo, 285 (32.1%) were taking baseline concomitant corticosteroids. Week 12 clinical remission and endoscopic response rates were greater for risankizumab 600 mg versus placebo, regardless of concomitant corticosteroid use. At week 52, 66.7%, 50.0% and 41.2% of patients taking risankizumab 180 mg, risankizumab 360 mg and (withdrawal) placebo, respectively, discontinued corticosteroids. Week 52 corticosteroid-free clinical remission per stool frequency/abdominal pain score (risankizumab 180 mg [42.7%] or 360 mg [49.8%]; [withdrawal] placebo [39.0%]), corticosteroid-free clinical remission per Crohn's Disease Activity Index (risankizumab 180 mg [51.0%] or 360 mg [49.5%]; [withdrawal] placebo [40.2%]), and corticosteroid-free endoscopic response (risankizumab 180 mg [44.6%] or 360 mg [44.7%]; [withdrawal] placebo [20.7%]) rates were greater for risankizumab than placebo. Adverse event rates were generally similar, regardless of baseline corticosteroid use., Conclusions: Efficacy of risankizumab 600 mg induction therapy was independent of concomitant corticosteroid use. Risankizumab 180 and 360 mg maintenance therapy yielded high rates of corticosteroid-free clinical and endoscopic outcomes at week 52., (© 2024 The Author(s). Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background & Aims: Upadacitinib, an oral Janus kinase inhibitor, achieved significantly higher rates of clinical remission and endoscopic response vs placebo during induction (U-EXCEL [NCT03345849], U-EXCEED [NCT03345836]) and maintenance (U-ENDURE [NCT03345823]) treatment in patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease. Prior biologic failure is often associated with reduced responses to subsequent therapies. This post hoc analysis assessed upadacitinib efficacy by prior biologic failure status., Methods: Patients were randomized to placebo or upadacitinib 45 mg (UPA45) for 12 weeks (induction). UPA45 clinical responders were enrolled in U-ENDURE and rerandomized to placebo, upadacitinib 15 mg, or upadacitinib 30 mg (UPA30) for 52 weeks. Assessments were by prior biologic failure., Results: Of 1021 patients, 733 (71.8%) had prior biologic failure. Across outcomes and subgroups, upadacitinib-treated patients achieved higher rates vs placebo. During induction, upadacitinib had higher rates vs placebo for clinical remission based on stool frequency/abdominal pain score (without failure: 54.0% vs 28.3%; with failure: 42.2% vs 14.1%) and endoscopic response (without failure: 52.0% vs 16.2%; with failure: 35.7% vs 5.3%). In maintenance, the greatest treatment effect (upadacitinib vs placebo) was among patients with prior biologic failure treated with UPA30 (clinical remission without failure: 58.5% vs 32.7%; with failure: 42.5% vs 8.7%; endoscopic response without failure: 43.9% vs 17.9%; with failure: 38.9% vs 4.0%). Patients without vs with prior biologic failure had fewer adverse events., Conclusions: Upadacitinib led to higher absolutes rates of clinical and endoscopic outcomes in patients without vs with prior biologic failure. Patients treated with upadacitinib achieved greater rates of clinical and endoscopic improvements vs placebo, regardless of prior biologic exposure., Clinicaltrials: gov: NCT03345849, NCT03345836, NCT03345823., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The efficacy and safety of risankizumab as compared with ustekinumab in patients with Crohn's disease are unknown., Methods: In this phase 3b, multicenter, open-label, randomized, controlled trial with blinded assessment of end points, patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease who had had an inadequate response to anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy or unacceptable side effects with such therapy were randomly assigned to receive risankizumab or ustekinumab at standard doses for 48 weeks. The two primary end points, which were tested sequentially, were clinical remission at week 24 (defined as a Crohn's Disease Activity Index score of <150 [range, 0 to 600, with higher scores indicating more severe disease activity]), which was analyzed in the first 50% of patients to complete the week 24 visit, with a noninferiority margin of 10 percentage points; and endoscopic remission at week 48 (defined as a score of ≤4, a decrease of ≥2 points from baseline, and no subscore >1 in any individual variable on the Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn's Disease [range, 0 to 56, with higher scores indicating more severe disease]), which was analyzed for superiority in 100% of the patients. Safety was assessed in all patients who received at least one dose of risankizumab or ustekinumab., Results: In the full intention-to-treat population for the efficacy analysis, 230 of 255 patients (90.2%) who received risankizumab and 193 of 265 patients (72.8%) who received ustekinumab completed all the assigned treatments. Both primary end points were met; risankizumab was noninferior to ustekinumab with respect to clinical remission at week 24 (58.6% vs. 39.5%; adjusted difference, 18.4 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], 6.6 to 30.3) and superior to ustekinumab with respect to endoscopic remission at week 48 (31.8% vs. 16.2%; adjusted difference, 15.6 percentage points; 95% CI, 8.4 to 22.9; P<0.001). The incidence of adverse events appeared to be similar in the two groups., Conclusions: In this head-to-head clinical trial of risankizumab and ustekinumab involving patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease who had had unacceptable side effects with anti-TNF therapy or an inadequate response to such therapy, risankizumab was noninferior to ustekinumab with respect to clinical remission at week 24 and superior with respect to endoscopic remission at week 48. (Funded by AbbVie; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04524611.)., (Copyright © 2024 Massachusetts Medical Society.)

Background: Crohn's disease (CD) significantly affects patients' health-related quality of life and well-being., Aims: Communicating Needs and Features of IBD Experiences (CONFIDE) survey explores the experience and impact of moderate-to-severe CD symptoms on patients' lives and identifies communication gaps between patients and health care professionals (HCPs)., Methods: Online, quantitative, cross-sectional surveys of patients, and HCPs were conducted in the United States (US), Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom), and Japan. Criteria based on previous treatment, steroid use, and/or hospitalization defined moderate-to-severe CD. US and Europe data are presented as descriptive statistics., Results: Surveys were completed by 215 US and 547 European patients and 200 US and 503 European HCPs. In both patient groups, top three symptoms currently (past month) experienced were diarrhea, bowel urgency, and increased stool frequency, with more than one-third patients wearing diaper/pad/protection at least once a week in past 3 months due to fear of bowel urgency-related accidents. HCPs ranked diarrhea, blood in stool, and increased stool frequency as the most common symptoms. Although 34.0% US and 27.2% European HCPs ranked bowel urgency among the top five symptoms affecting patient lives, only 12.0% US and 10.9% European HCPs ranked it among top three most impactful symptoms on treatment decisions., Conclusion: Bowel urgency is common and impactful among patients with CD in the US and Europe. Differences in patient and HCP perceptions of experiences and impacts of bowel urgency exist, with HCPs underestimating its burden. Proactive communication between HCPs and patients in clinical settings is crucial for improving health outcomes in patients with CD., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background and Aims: Crohn's disease [CD] symptoms are a main driver for impaired quality of life, and fast relief is important for patient care. Stool frequency [SF] and abdominal pain score [APS] are patient-reported outcomes [PROs] measuring symptom severity, which are supported as treatment targets by the STRIDE-II consensus. This post hoc analysis examined the efficacy of risankizumab [RZB], a humanised monoclonal antibody with high specificity for interleukin-23 p19, for providing early symptom relief, along with the prognostic value of early symptom relief for achieving future clinical and endoscopic endpoints., Methods: Individual and combined measures of SF and AP at Weeks 1, 2, and 3 were assessed in patients with moderate to severe CD who received 600 mg intravenous RZB or placebo [PBO] in the ADVANCE or MOTIVATE induction studies. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the predictiveness of early symptom improvement for clinical and endoscopic outcomes following RZB induction and maintenance., Results: Higher rates of SF/APS clinical remission and enhanced clinical response were observed as early as Week 1 with RZB vs PBO. A larger proportion of patients achieved clinical endpoints with RZB vs PBO, irrespective of prior bio-failure status. Early PRO improvement was associated with a greater likelihood of achieving clinical and endoscopic improvement following 12-week induction and 52-week maintenance RZB dosing., Conclusions: After the first intravenous RZB induction dose, significantly greater rates of symptom improvement vs PBO were achieved. Improvements could be observed as early as Week 1 and were predictive of Weeks 12 and 52 clinical and endoscopic improvement., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation.)

Background and Aims: Ontamalimab is a fully human immunoglobulin G2 monoclonal antibody against mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule-1, developed as treatment for inflammatory bowel disease., Methods: Six phase 3, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials compared efficacy and safety of ontamalimab [25 mg and 75 mg once every 4 weeks] with placebo in patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease [two induction studies and one re-randomised maintenance study per condition]. This clinical trial programme was discontinued in 2020 for reasons unrelated to drug safety/efficacy; Crohn's disease studies are described in the Supplementary data., Results: The induction [12-week] and maintenance [52-week] studies included 659 and 366 randomised patients, respectively. More patients who received ontamalimab induction than placebo achieved the primary endpoint of clinical remission at Week 12 [25 mg, 18.5% vs 15.8%, p = 0.617, 27.0% vs 12.5%, p = 0.027; 75 mg, 29.8% vs 15.8%, p = 0.018, 29.5% vs 12.5% p = 0.014]; significantly more patients who received ontamalimab maintenance therapy than placebo achieved Week 52 clinical remission [25 mg, 53.5% vs 8.2%, p <0.001; 75 mg, 40.2% vs 12.8%, p <0.001]. Endoscopic improvement was generally significantly different vs placebo [induction: 25 mg, 27.8% vs 21.1%, p = 0.253, 35.1% vs 12.5%, p = 0.001; 75 mg, 41.1% vs 21.1%, p = 0.002, 33.9% vs 12.5%, p = 0.003; maintenance: 25 mg, 56.3% vs 9.6%, p <0.001; 75 mg, 48.8% vs 15.1%, p <0.001]. Adverse event rates were similar between ontamalimab and placebo groups., Conclusions: Ontamalimab 75 mg was effective, with no safety concerns, as induction and maintenance therapy for patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis. [NCT03259334; NCT03259308; NCT03290781; NCT03559517; NCT03566823; NCT03627091]., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation.)

Background: The aim of this observational, real-world evidence, modified intention-to-treat (mITT) study based on prospectively collected data from the VEDOIBD registry was to compare the effectiveness of vedolizumab (VEDO) vs antitumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) in biologic-naïve Crohn's disease (CD) patients., Methods: Between 2017 and 2020, 557 CD patients starting therapy with VEDO or anti-TNF were consecutively enrolled in 45 IBD centers across Germany. Per study protocol, the analysis excluded biologic-experienced patients and those with a missing Harvey-Bradshaw Index score, resulting in a final sample of 327 biologic-naïve CD patients. Clinical remission was measured using the Harvey-Bradshaw Index at the end of induction therapy and after 1 and 2 years. Switching to a different therapy was considered an outcome failure. Propensity score adjustment with inverse probability of treatment weighting was used to correct for confounding., Results: The effectiveness of both VEDO (n = 86) and anti-TNF (n = 241) was remarkably high for induction treatment, but VEDO performed significantly less well than anti-TNF (clinical remission: 56.3% vs 73.9%, P < .05). In contrast, clinical remission after 2 years was significantly better for VEDO compared with anti-TNF (74.2% vs 44.7%; P < .05; odds ratio, 0.45; 95% CI, 0.22-0.94). Remarkably, only 17% of patients switched from VEDO to another biologic vs 44% who received anti-TNF., Conclusions: The results of this prospective, 2-year, real-world evidence study suggest that the choice of VEDO led to higher remission rates after 2 years compared with anti-TNF. This could support the role of VEDO as a first-line biologic therapy in CD., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Olamkicept selectively inhibits the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) trans-signaling pathway without blocking the classic pathway and is a promising immunoregulatory therapy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). These first-in-human, randomized, placebo-controlled, single- (SAD) and multiple-ascending dose (MAD) trials evaluated olamkicept safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetic, and pharmacodynamic characteristics. Doses tested in the SAD trial included seven single intravenous doses (0.75, 7.5, 75, 150, 300, 600, and 750 mg) and one subcutaneous (SC) dose (60 mg) given to healthy subjects (N = 64), and three intravenous doses (75 mg, 300 mg, and 750 mg) given to patients with Crohn's disease (CD; N = 24). Doses tested in the MAD trial included multiple intravenous doses (75, 300, and 600 mg once weekly for 4 weeks) given to healthy subjects (N = 24). No severe or serious treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were recorded. The most common TEAEs were headache, nasopharyngitis, and myalgia in the SAD trial, and diarrhea, headache, and cough in the MAD trial. Infusion-related reactions occurred in one and two subjects in the SAD and MAD trial, respectively, leading to treatment discontinuation in the MAD trial. Olamkicept showed dose-independent pharmacokinetics after single and multiple administrations, and there was no major difference in systemic exposure between healthy subjects and patients with CD. Complete target engagement (inhibition of phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription-3) was achieved in blood around or above olamkicept serum concentrations of 1-5 μg/mL. Overall, these results suggest that olamkicept is safe and well-tolerated in healthy subjects and patients with CD after single intravenous/SC and multiple intravenous administrations., (© 2024 The Author(s). Clinical and Translational Science published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.)

Background: In addition to randomized controlled trials (RCTs), real-world studies on the effectiveness of ustekinumab (UST) in Crohn's disease (CD) are required inasmuch as RCTs are usually confined to selected patients, which may not represent everyday clinical practice. Within the framework of the prospective real-world RUN-CD registry, a total of approximately 900 CD patients from 44 inflammatory bowel disease centers from all over Germany starting a new therapy with UST or other biologics were screened for a real-world evidence (RWE) comparison of CD patients with UST vs antitumor necrosis factor (TNF)., Methods: A total of 618 CD patients with a nonrandomized biological therapy were qualified for this induction phase effectiveness RUN-CD study of UST vs anti-TNF. To reduce selection bias in estimations of treatment effects, the propensity score with inverse probability of treatment weighting was implemented. The results were reported as odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI)., Results: A total of 339 UST and 279 anti-TNF patients were analyzed. The effectiveness of UST vs anti-TNF in terms of clinical remission (UST 65.4% vs anti-TNF 63.0%; OR, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.71-1.74) and steroid-free remission (UST 51.0% vs anti-TNF 53.8%; OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.60-1.47) was comparable at the end of induction therapy. Similar results were observed in the bio-naïve and bio-experienced UST vs anti-TNF groups. For both, the remission rates were higher in the bio-naïve than in the bio-experienced groups (P < .05)., Conclusions: In this prospective, observational RUN-CD study, the RWE head-to-head comparison of UST vs anti-TNF showed similar induction effectiveness in both groups, remarkably higher than those found in prior RCTs., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Aberrant CD4 + T cell reactivity against intestinal microorganisms is considered to drive mucosal inflammation in inflammatory bowel diseases. The disease-relevant microbial species and the corresponding microorganism-specific, pathogenic T cell phenotypes remain largely unknown. In the present study, we identified common gut commensal and food-derived yeasts, as direct activators of altered CD4 + T cell reactions in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). Yeast-responsive CD4 + T cells in CD display a cytotoxic T helper cell (T H 1 cell) phenotype and show selective expansion of T cell clones that are highly cross-reactive to several commensal, as well as food-derived, fungal species. This indicates cross-reactive T cell selection by repeated encounter with conserved fungal antigens in the context of chronic intestinal disease. Our results highlighted a role of yeasts as drivers of aberrant CD4 + T cell reactivity in patients with CD and suggest that both gut-resident fungal commensals and daily dietary intake of yeasts might contribute to chronic activation of inflammatory CD4 + T cell responses in patients with CD., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Objective: Under the assumption of irreversibility, the Montreal classification provides a unidirectional assessment of the complications and behaviour of Crohn's disease (CD) that does not allow for downstaging. We examined the use of a bidirectional Montreal classification system that can capture disease regression., Design: From the BioCrohn Registry, an inception cohort of patients with CD for ≤12 months duration was defined and followed up for 5-years. Cumulative probabilities for developing complications were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Potential associations of explanatory variables with disease progression were estimated with Cox regression., Results: Among 393 incident CD patients (of whom 255 completed the entire follow-up), the 5-year cumulative probability of developing complications was 41.5% (15.6% and 25.9% for stricturing and penetrating complications respectively). Perianal disease (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: 8.45 [4.74-15.07]) and surgical resection of the intestine (2.71 [1.50-4.92]) in the very early phase of the disease were associated with a higher risk of developing a penetrating complication within the 5-year follow-up. The use of a bidirectional Montreal classification system which can account for disease regression demonstrated that 90% of patients exhibited inflammatory disease behaviour at 5 years, in contrast to 58%, if the hierarchical, unidirectional Montreal classification system was used., Conclusion: An additional bidirectional disease behaviour assessment capturing reversed or fully controlled complications may provide a more realistic appraisal of the complexity and unmet needs of patients treated with advanced therapies., (© 2023 The Authors. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background/aims: The clinical efficacy and safety of CT-P13 are comparable to originator infliximab for Crohn's disease in CT-P13 3.4 study (NCT02096861). We performed a multivariate logistic analysis to demonstrate the association between early infliximab trough levels and treatment outcomes of CT-P13 and originator infliximab., Methods: Early serum infliximab trough levels and anti-drug antibody (ADA) levels were compared between CT-P13 (n=100) and originator infliximab (n=98) groups. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and multivariate logistic analysis were conducted to identify optimal cutoffs of serum infliximab trough levels and predictive factors for clinical outcomes., Results: The median infliximab trough levels were not different between CT-P13 and originator infliximab groups at week 6, week 14, and in median ADA levels at week 14, respectively. ROC analysis found an infliximab concentration threshold of 4.5 μg/mL at week 6 and 4.0 μg/mL at week 14 as the cutoff value with the highest accuracy for the prediction of clinical outcomes. Serum infliximab trough levels at weeks 6 and 14 predicted clinical remission at weeks 30 and 54, and endoscopic remission at week 54. The combinations of clinical remission or C-reactive protein normalization with an early infliximab trough level improved the prediction of long-term clinical or endoscopic remission., Conclusions: A threshold in serum infliximab trough level at week 6 and week 14 was highly predictive for long-term clinical outcomes. There were no statistical differences in serum infliximab trough levels and ADA levels between CT-P13 and originator infliximab.

Background: Ozanimod, an oral sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor modulator currently approved for the treatment of moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis and relapsing multiple sclerosis, showed clinical, endoscopic, and histological benefit in the phase 2 STEPSTONE trial for Crohn's disease (CD). We aim to describe the trial design of the YELLOWSTONE phase 3 program evaluating the safety and efficacy of ozanimod in patients with moderately to severely active CD., Methods: The YELLOWSTONE program consists of phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled induction (NCT03440372 and NCT03440385) and maintenance (NCT03464097) trials and an open-label extension (OLE) study (NCT03467958). Patients with inadequate response or intolerance to ≥1 CD treatment are randomized to receive daily ozanimod 0.92 mg (equivalent to ozanimod HCl 1 mg) or placebo for 12 weeks during induction. Those who respond to ozanimod are rerandomized to continue ozanimod or placebo maintenance therapy for 52 weeks. Patients who do not meet criteria for maintenance, experience relapse during maintenance, or complete maintenance or ≥ 1 year of STEPSTONE are eligible for open-label treatment for up to 234 weeks. Efficacy endpoints include clinical, endoscopic, and histologic outcomes., Results: Expected 2023 (induction studies), 2024 (maintenance study), and 2026 (OLE)., Conclusion: YELLOWSTONE will provide pivotal phase 3 data on the safety and efficacy of ozanimod in patients with moderately to severely active CD using state-of-the-art methods, including centrally read endoscopic and histologic measurements, along with subjective assessments of symptom control based on the Crohn's Disease Activity Index. These studies could enable approval of ozanimod as a new CD therapy., Clinical Trial Registration Numbers: NCT03440372, NCT03440385, NCT03464097, NCT03467958., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships, which may be considered as potential competing interests: Brian G. Feagan has consulted for AbbVie, ActoGeniX, Albireo, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Avaxia Biologics, Baxter, Biogen Idec, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Calypso, Celgene, Elan, enGene, Ferring Pharma, Roche/Genentech, gIcare Pharma, Gilead, Given Imaging, GSK, Ironwood, Janssen, Johnson & Johnson, Lexicon, Lilly, Merck, Millennium, Nektar, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, Prometheus Laboratories, Protagonist, Sanofi, and UCB, and is a director at Robarts Clinical Trials. Stefan Schreiber has received personal fees from AbbVie, Amgen, Arena, Biogen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Celgene, Celltrion Healthcare, Dr. Falk Pharma, Fresenius, Galapagos/Gilead, I-Mab, Janssen, MSD, Mylan, Pfizer, Protagonist, ProventionBio, Takeda, and Theravance Biopharma. Anita Afzali has served as a consultant for AbbVie, Takeda, Janssen, Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Gilead, TLL Pharmaceuticals, Arena Pharmaceuticals, and DiaSorin, and has received speaker fees from AbbVie, Takeda, Janssen, Pfizer, and Bristol Myers Squibb. Florian Rieder has consulted for Adnovate, AgomAb, Allergan, AbbVie, Arena, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene/Bristol Myers Squibb, CDISC, Cowen, Ferring, Galapagos, Galmed, Genentech, Gilead, Gossamer, GuidePoint, Helmsley, Horizon Therapeutics, Image Analysis Limited, Index Pharma, Janssen, Koutif, Mestag Therapeutics, Metacrine, Morphic, Organovo, Origo, Pfizer, Pliant, Prometheus Biosciences, Receptos, Redx Pharma, Roche, Samsung, Surmodics, Surrozen, Takeda, TechLab, Theravance, Thetis, UCB, Ysios Capital, and 89bio. Jeffrey Hyams served on advisory boards for Janssen, Pfizer, and Boehringer Ingelheim and as a consultant to Takeda, Bristol Myers Squibb, Thetis, and Eli Lilly. Kanthi Kollengode, Jared Pearlman, Vladimir Son, and Cecilia Marta are employees of Bristol Myers Squibb. Douglas C. Wolf has received honoraria as a speaker, consultant, and/or advisory board member from AbbVie, Arena, Celgene/Bristol Myers Squibb, Janssen, Pfizer, Prometheus, Takeda, and UCB. Geert G. D'Haens has consulted for AbbVie, Cellceutix, Celgene, Endo, Ferring, Gilead, Janssen Ortho Biotech, Eli Lilly, American Regent, Merck, Morphic, Pfizer, Prometheus Laboratories, Romark, Salix Pharmaceuticals/Valeant, Shire Pharmaceuticals, Takeda, and UCB; conducted research for UCB, Janssen Ortho Biotech; editor (honorarium) Gastroenterology and Hepatology (Gastro-Hep Communications), Springer Science and Business Media; received book royalties from SLACK, Inc., and Professional Communications, Inc., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background & Aims: Clinical trials evaluating biologics and small molecules in patients with ulcerative colitis are predominantly excluding ulcerative proctitis. The objective of the Definition and endpoints for ulcerative PROCtitis in clinical TRIALs initiative was to develop consensus statements for definitions, inclusion criteria, and endpoints for the evaluation of ulcerative proctitis in adults., Methods: Thirty-five international experts held a consensus meeting to define ulcerative proctitis, and the endpoints to use in clinical trials. Based on a systematic review of the literature, statements were generated, discussed, and approved by the working group participants using a modified Delphi method. Consensus was defined as at least 75% agreement among voters., Results: The group agreed that the diagnosis of ulcerative proctitis should be made by ileocolonoscopy and confirmed by histopathology, with the exclusion of infections, drug-induced causes, radiation, trauma, and Crohn's disease. Ulcerative proctitis was defined as macroscopic extent of lesions limited to 15 cm distance from the anal verge in adults. Primary and secondary endpoints were identified to capture response of ulcerative proctitis to therapy. A combined clinical and endoscopic primary endpoint for the evaluation of ulcerative proctitis disease activity was proposed. Secondary endpoints that should be evaluated include endoscopic remission, histologic remission, mucosal healing, histologic endoscopic mucosal improvement, disability, fecal incontinence, urgency, constipation, and health-related quality of life., Conclusions: In response to the need for guidance on the design of clinical trials in patients with ulcerative proctitis, the Definition and end points for ulcerative PROCtitis in clinical TRIALs consensus provides recommendations on the definition and endpoints for ulcerative proctitis clinical trials., (Copyright © 2022 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: One of the current hypotheses to explain the proinflammatory immune response in IBD is a dysregulated T cell reaction to yet unknown intestinal antigens. As such, it may be possible to identify disease-associated T cell clonotypes by analysing the peripheral and intestinal T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire of patients with IBD and controls., Design: We performed bulk TCR repertoire profiling of both the TCR alpha and beta chains using high-throughput sequencing in peripheral blood samples of a total of 244 patients with IBD and healthy controls as well as from matched blood and intestinal tissue of 59 patients with IBD and disease controls. We further characterised specific T cell clonotypes via single-cell RNAseq., Results: We identified a group of clonotypes, characterised by semi-invariant TCR alpha chains, to be significantly enriched in the blood of patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and particularly expanded in the CD8 + T cell population. Single-cell RNAseq data showed an innate-like phenotype of these cells, with a comparable gene expression to unconventional T cells such as mucosal associated invariant T and natural killer T (NKT) cells, but with distinct TCRs., Conclusions: We identified and characterised a subpopulation of unconventional Crohn-associated invariant T (CAIT) cells. Multiple evidence suggests these cells to be part of the NKT type II population. The potential implications of this population for CD or a subset thereof remain to be elucidated, and the immunophenotype and antigen reactivity of CAIT cells need further investigations in future studies., Competing Interests: Competing interests: ER, AF, PB and IZM hold a pending patent application based on the results described in this manuscript (EP21217058.3)., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified hundreds of loci associated with Crohn's disease (CD). However, as with all complex diseases, robust identification of the genes dysregulated by noncoding variants typically driving GWAS discoveries has been challenging. Here, to complement GWASs and better define actionable biological targets, we analyzed sequence data from more than 30,000 patients with CD and 80,000 population controls. We directly implicate ten genes in general onset CD for the first time to our knowledge via association to coding variation, four of which lie within established CD GWAS loci. In nine instances, a single coding variant is significantly associated, and in the tenth, ATG4C, we see additionally a significantly increased burden of very rare coding variants in CD cases. In addition to reiterating the central role of innate and adaptive immune cells as well as autophagy in CD pathogenesis, these newly associated genes highlight the emerging role of mesenchymal cells in the development and maintenance of intestinal inflammation., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc.)

Background and Aims: Inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] is a chronic relapsing disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, which generally manifests as Crohn's disease [CD] or ulcerative colitis [UC]. These subtypes are heterogeneous in terms of disease location and histological features, while sharing common clinical presentation, genetic associations and, thus, common immune regulatory pathways., Methods: Using miRNA and mRNA coupled transcriptome profiling and systems biology approaches, we report a comprehensive analysis of blood transcriptomes from treatment-naïve [n = 110] and treatment-exposed [n = 177] IBD patients as well as symptomatic [n = 65] and healthy controls [n = 95]., Results: Broadly, the peripheral blood transcriptomes of CD and UC patients were similar. However, there was an extensive gene deregulation in the blood of IBD patients, while only a slight deregulation in symptomatic controls, when compared with healthy controls. The deregulated mRNAs and miRNAs are mainly involved in the innate immunity and are especially enriched in neutrophil activation-related pathways. Oxidative phosphorylation and neutrophil activation-related modules were found to be differentially co-expressed among treatment-naïve IBD as compared to healthy controls. In the deregulated neutrophil activation-related co-expression module, IL1B was identified as the central gene. Levels of co-expression among IL1B and chemosensing receptor [CXCR1/2 and FPR1/2] genes were reduced in the blood of IBD patients when compared with healthy controls., Conclusions: Immune dysregulation seen in peripheral blood transcriptomes of treatment-naïve IBD patients is mainly driven by neutrophil activation., (© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation.)

Background: Patients with Crohn's disease (CD) experience intestinal inflammation. Ontamalimab (SHP647), a fully human immunoglobulin G2 monoclonal antibody against mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule-1, is a potential novel CD treatment. OPERA II, a multicenter, open-label, phase 2 extension study, assessed the long-term safety and efficacy of ontamalimab in patients with moderate-to-severe CD., Methods: Patients had completed 12 weeks of blinded treatment (placebo or ontamalimab at 22.5, 75, or 225 mg subcutaneously) in OPERA (NCT01276509) or had a clinical response to ontamalimab 225 mg in TOSCA (NCT01387594). Participants received ontamalimab at 75 mg every 4 weeks (weeks 0-72), then were followed up every 4 weeks for 24 weeks. One-time dose reduction to 22.5 mg or escalation to 225 mg was permitted at the investigator's discretion. The primary end points were safety and tolerability outcomes. Secondary end points included changes in serum drug and biomarker concentrations. Efficacy end points were exploratory, and used non-responder imputation methods., Results: Overall, 149/268 patients completed the study. The most common adverse event leading to study discontinuation was CD flare (19.8%). Two patients died; neither death was considered to be drug related. No dose reductions occurred; 157 patients had their dose escalated. Inflammatory biomarker concentrations decreased. Serum ontamalimab levels were consistent with known pharmacokinetics. Remission rates (Harvey-Bradshaw Index [HBI] ≤ 5; baseline, 48.1%; week 72, 37.3%) and response rates (baseline [decrease in Crohn's Disease Activity Index ≥ 70 points], 63.1%; week 72 [decrease in HBI ≥ 3], 42.5%) decreased gradually., Conclusions: Ontamalimab was well tolerated; treatment responses appeared to be sustained over 72 weeks.ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT01298492., (© 2021 Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.)

Background & Aims: Dose-optimization strategies for biologic therapies in Crohn's disease (CD) are not well established. The SERENE CD (Study of a Novel Approach to Induction and Maintenance Dosing With Adalimumab in Patients With Moderate to Severe Crohn's Disease) trial evaluated higher vs standard adalimumab induction dosing and clinically adjusted (CA) vs therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM) maintenance strategies in patients with moderately to severely active CD., Methods: In this phase 3, randomized, double-blind, multicenter trial, eligible adults (Crohn's Disease Activity Index score of 220-450, endoscopic evidence of mucosal inflammation, and previous failure of standard therapies) were randomized to higher induction regimen (adalimumab 160 mg at weeks 0, 1, 2, and 3; n = 308) or standard induction regimen (adalimumab 160 mg at week 0 and 80 mg at week 2; n = 206) followed by 40 mg every other week from week 4 onward. Co-primary end points included clinical remission at week 4 and endoscopic response at week 12. At week 12, patients were re-randomized to maintenance therapy optimized by Crohn's Disease Activity Index and C-reactive protein (CA; n = 92) or serum adalimumab concentrations and/or clinical criteria (TDM; n = 92); exploratory end points were evaluated at week 56., Results: Similar proportions of patients receiving higher induction regimen and standard induction regimen achieved clinical remission at week 4 (44% in both; P = .939) and endoscopic response at week 12 (43% vs 39%, respectively, P = .462). Week 56 efficacy was similar between CA and TDM. Safety profiles were comparable between dosing regimens., Conclusions: Higher induction regimen was not superior to standard induction regimen, and CA and TDM maintenance strategies were similarly efficacious. Adalimumab therapy was well tolerated, and no new safety concerns were identified. (ClinicalTrials.gov, Number: NCT02065570)., (Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: There is a great unmet need for new therapeutics with novel mechanisms of action for patients with Crohn's disease. The ADVANCE and MOTIVATE studies showed that intravenous risankizumab, a selective p19 anti-interleukin (IL)-23 antibody, was efficacious and well tolerated as induction therapy. Here, we report the efficacy and safety of subcutaneous risankizumab as maintenance therapy., Methods: FORTIFY is a phase 3, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, maintenance withdrawal study across 273 clinical centres in 44 countries across North and South America, Europe, Oceania, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region that enrolled participants with clinical response to risankizumab in the ADVANCE or MOTIVATE induction studies. Patients in ADVANCE or MOTIVATE were aged 16-80 years with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease. Patients in the FORTIFY substudy 1 were randomly assigned again (1:1:1) to receive either subcutaneous risankizumab 180 mg, subcutaneous risankizumab 360 mg, or withdrawal from risankizumab to receive subcutaneous placebo (herein referred to as withdrawal [subcutaneous placebo]). Treatment was given every 8 weeks. Patients were stratified by induction dose, post-induction endoscopic response, and clinical remission status. Patients, investigators, and study personnel were masked to treatment assignments. Week 52 co-primary endpoints were clinical remission (Crohn's disease activity index [CDAI] in the US protocol, or stool frequency and abdominal pain score in the non-US protocol) and endoscopic response in patients who received at least one dose of study drug during the 52-week maintenance period. Safety was assessed in patients receiving at least one dose of study medication. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03105102., Findings: 712 patients were initially assessed and, between April 9, 2018, and April 24, 2020, 542 patients were randomly assigned to either the risankizumab 180 mg group (n=179), the risankizumab 360 mg group (n=179), or the placebo group (n=184). Greater clinical remission and endoscopic response rates were reached with 360 mg risankizumab versus placebo (CDAI clinical remission was reached in 74 (52%) of 141 patients vs 67 (41%) of 164 patients, adjusted difference 15% [95% CI 5-24]; stool frequency and abdominal pain score clinical remission was reached in 73 (52%) of 141 vs 65 (40%) of 164, adjusted difference 15% [5-25]; endoscopic response 66 (47%) of 141 patients vs 36 (22%) of 164 patients, adjusted difference 28% [19-37]). Higher rates of CDAI clinical remission and endoscopic response (but not stool frequency and abdominal pain score clinical remission [p=0·124]) were also reached with risankizumab 180 mg versus withdrawal (subcutaneous placebo; CDAI clinical remission reached in 87 [55%] of 157 patients, adjusted difference 15% [95% CI 5-24]; endoscopic response 74 [47%] of 157, adjusted difference 26% [17-35]). Results for more stringent endoscopic and composite endpoints and inflammatory biomarkers were consistent with a dose-response relationship. Maintenance treatment was well tolerated. Adverse event rates were similar among groups, and the most frequently reported adverse events in all treatment groups were worsening Crohn's disease, arthralgia, and headache., Interpretation: Subcutaneous risankizumab is a safe and efficacious treatment for maintenance of remission in patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and offers a new therapeutic option for a broad range of patients by meeting endpoints that might change the future course of disease., Funding: AbbVie., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests MF reports being a consultant or speaker for AbbVie, Amgen, Biogen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Celltrion, Dr Falk, Ferring, Janssen-Cilag, Lamepro, Eli Lilly, Medtronic, Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), Mylan, Pfizer, Regeneron, Samsung Bioepis, Sandoz, Takeda, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and Truvion Healthcare; and research grants from AbbVie, Amgen, Biogen, Janssen, Pfizer, and Takeda. RP reports being a consultant or speaker for AI4GI, AbbVie, Arena, Amgen, Atlantic Healthcare, BioBalance, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), Celgene, Coronado Biosciences, Cosmo Technologies, Eagle, Eisai Medical Research, Elan, Eli Lilly, EnGene, Ferring, Genentech, Gilead, Given Imaging, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Janssen, Lycera, Meda, Merck & Co, Merck Research, MerckSerono, Novo Nordisk, PDL Biopharma, Pfizer, Prometheus, Protagonist, Celgene, Alimentiv, Salix, Soz, Sanofi Genzyme, Shire, Sigmoid, Sublimity, Takeda, and Theravance. FB reports being a consultant or speaker for AbbVie, Arena, Celltrion, Falk, Ferring, Janssen, Mundipharma, MSD, Pfizer, Sandoz, Takeda, Vifor; and received research grants from AbbVie, Amgen, Chiesi, Ipsen, Janssen, and MSD. PB has received financial support for research from AbbVie, Amgen, Janssen, Mundipharma, Mylan, and Pfizer; lecture fees from AbbVie, Celltrion, Janssen, Pfizer, and Takeda; and advisory board fees from AbbVie, Arena Pharmaceuticals, BMS, Hospira, Janssen, Lilly, Merck, Mundipharma, Pentax Medical, Pfizer, PSI CRO, Roche, Sandoz, and Takeda. J-FC reports research grants from AbbVie, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Takeda; received payment for lectures from AbbVie, Amgen, Allergan, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Shire, and Takeda; received consulting fees from AbbVie, Amgen, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, BMS, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Galmed Research, Genentech, GSK, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Kaleido Biosciences, Imedex, Immunic, Iterative Scopes, Merck, Microba, Novartis, PBM Capital, Pfizer, Sanofi, Takeda, TiGenix, and Vifor; and holds stock options in Intestinal Biotech Development. SD reports research grants from AbbVie, Alimentiv, Amgen, Genentech, Gilead, Janssen, Pfizer, Celgene, Seres Therapeutics, Takeda, and UCB; and has been a consultant for AbbVie, Allergan, Amgen, BMS, Celgene, Celltrion, Janssen, Lilly, Pfizer, Takeda, and UCB. MD reports being a consultant for AbbVie, Arena, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Gilead, Janssen, Merck, Pfizer, Prometheus Labs, Takeda, and UCB; and received research grants from Janssen, AbbVie, and Prometheus Labs. BGF reports grants or research support from AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca (MedImmune), Atlantic Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Celgene Corporation, Celltech, Genentech (subsidiary of Roche), Gilead Sciences, GSK, Janssen Research & Development, Pfizer, Celgene (Receptos), Sanofi, Santarus, Takeda Development Center Americas, Tillotts Pharma, and UCB; reports being a consultant for Abbott (AbbVie), AgomAB Therapeutics, Allakos, Allergan, Amgen, Applied Molecular Transport, Aptevo Therapeutics, Astra Zeneca, Atlantic Pharma, BioMx Israel, Boehringer-Ingelheim, BMS, Calypso Biotech, Celgene, Connect BioPharma, Everest Clinical Research, Galapagos, Galen Atlantica, Genentech (Roche), Gilead, Gossamer Pharma, GSK, Roche, Index Pharma, ImmunExt, Janssen, Kaleido Biosciences, Kyowa Kakko Kirin, Lilly, Lument AB, Merck, Millenium, Mylan, Nestle, Nextbiotix, Origo BioPharma, Pandion Therapeutics, ParImmune, Parvus Therapeutics, Pfizer, Prometheus Therapeutics and Diagnostics, Progenity, Protagonist, Qu Biologics, Rebiotix, Celgene, Salix Pharma, Sandoz, Sanofi, Shire, Surrozen, Takeda, Tillotts, UCB Pharma, VHsquared, Ysios, and Zealand Pharma; reports being on the speakers bureau for AbbVie, Janssen, and Takeda; reports scientific advisory board membership with AbbVie, Allergan, Amgen, Astra Zeneca, Boehringer-Ingelheim, BMS, Celgene, Genentech (Roche), Janssen, Novartis, Origo BioPharma, Pfizer, Prometheus, Protagonist, Takeda, and Tillotts Pharma; reports board of directors membership with Alimentiv; and reports being a shareholder of stock with Gossamer Pharma. TH reports speaker or consultant fees from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, EA Pharma, AbbVie, JIMRO, Zeria Pharmaceutical, Kyorin Pharmaceutical, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Pfizer Japan, Mochida Pharmaceutical, Celgene, Janssen Pharmaceutical, and Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical; and reports research grants from Alfresa Pharma, EA pharma, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, AbbVie, JIMRO, Zeria Pharmaceutical, Daiichi-Sankyo, Kyorin Pharmaceutical, Nippon Kayaku, Takeda Pharmaceutical, Pfizer, and Mochida Pharmaceutical. AL reports being a consultant, speaker, or stockholder with AbbVie, Takeda, Janssen, and Ferring; and reports research grants from AbbVie, Takeda, Janssen, and Eli Lilly. JOL reports advisory board membership or speaker fees from AbbVie, Allergan, BMS, Celgene, Celtrion, Ferring, Gilead, GSK, Janssen, MSD, Napp, Pfizer, and Takeda; and research grants from AbbVie, Gilead, Takeda, and Pfizer. EVL reports being a consultant for AbbVie, Amgen, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, BMS, Calibr, Celgene, Genentech, Gilead, Gossamer Bio, Iterative Scopes, Janssen, Lilly, Morphic, Ono Pharmaceutical, Pfizer, Protagonist, Scipher Medicine, Sun Pharma, Surrozen, Takeda, and UCB; research support from Alimentiv (Robarts Clinical Trials); and research grants from AbbVie, Amgen, BMS, Genentech, Gilead, Gossamer Bio, Janssen, Pfizer, Celgene (Receptos), Takeda, Theravance, and UCB. JP reports being a consultant or speaker for AbbVie, Arena, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Celltrion, Ferring, Genentech, GSK, Janssen, Nestle, Origo, Pandion, Pfizer, Progenity, Alimentiv, Roche, Shire, Takeda, Theravance, and Wasserman; and research grants from AbbVie and Pfizer. LP-B reports personal fees from Galapagos, AbbVie, Janssen, Genentech, Ferring, Tillots, Celltrion, Takeda, Pfizer, Index Pharmaceuticals, Sandoz, Celgene, Biogen, Samsung Bioepis, Inotrem, Allergan, MSD, Roche, Arena, Gilead, Amgen, BMS, Vifor, Norgine, Mylan, Lilly, Fresenius Kabi, OSE Immunotherapeutics, Enthera, Theravance, Pandion Therapeutics, Gossamer Bio, Viatris, and Thermo Fisher Scientific; grants from AbbVie, MSD, Takeda, and Fresenius Kabi; and holds stock options in Clinical Trials Mobile Application. DTR reports speaker or consultant fees from AbbVie, Abgenomics, Allergan, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Bellatrix Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, BMS, CDx Diagnostics, Syneos, Check-Cap, Dizal Pharmaceuticals, Genentech (Roche), Gilead Sciences, Ichnos Sciences (formerly Glenmark Pharmaceuticals), InDex Pharmaceuticals, Iterative Scopes, Janssen, Lilly, Materia Prima, Narrow River Management, Pfizer, Prometheus Laboratories, Reistone, Takeda, and Techlab; and research grants from Takeda. WJS reports research grants from Abbvie, Abivax, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Janssen, Lilly, Pfizer, Prometheus Biosciences, Seres Therapeutics, Shire, Takeda, and Theravance Biopharma; consulting fees from Abbvie, Abivax, Admirx, Alfasigma, Alimentiv (Robarts Clinical Trials), Alivio Therapeutics, Allakos, Allergan, Amgen, Applied Molecular Transport, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Avexegen Therapeutics, Salix (subsidiary of Bausch Health), Beigene, Bellatrix Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, Boston Pharmaceuticals, BMS, Celgene, Celltrion, Cellularity, Conatus, Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, Escalier Biosciences, Ferring, Forbion, Equillium, Genentech (Roche), Gilead Sciences, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Gossamer Bio, Immunic Therapeutics (formerly Vital Therapies), Incyte, Index Pharmaceuticals, Intact Therapeutics, Janssen, Kyowa Kirin Pharmaceutical Research, Kyverna Therapeutics, Landos Biopharma, Lilly, Miraca Life Sciences, Nivalis Therapeutics, Novartis, Nutrition Science Partners, Oppilan Pharma (acquired by Ventyx Biosciences), Otsuka, Pandion Therapeutics, Paul Hastings, Pfizer, Progenity, Prometheus Biosciences, Prometheus Laboratories, Protagonists Therapeutics, Provention Bio, Reistone Biopharma, Ritter Pharmaceuticals, Seres Therapeutics, Shanghai Pharma Biotherapeutics, Shire, Shoreline Biosciences, Sienna Biopharmaceuticals, Sigmoid Biotechnologies, Sterna Biologicals, Sublimity Therapeutics, Surrozen, Takeda, Theravance Biopharma, Thetis Pharmaceuticals, Tigenix, Tillotts Pharma, UCB Pharma, Vendata Biosciences, Ventyx Biosciences, Vimalan Biosciences, Vivelix Pharmaceuticals, Vivreon Biosciences, and Zealand Pharma; stock or stock options from Allakos, BeiGene, Gossamer Bio, Oppilan Pharma (acquired by Ventyx Biosciences), Prometheus Biosciences, Prometheus Laboratories, Progenity, Shoreline Biosciences, Ventyx Biosciences, Vimalan Biosciences, and Vivreon Biosciences; and employment at Shoreline Biosciences. SS reports consultant or speaker fees from AbbVie, Allergosan, Amgen, Arena, BMS, Celltrion, Falk Pharma, Ferring, Galapagos, Gilead, Genentech (Roche), GSK, IMAB, Janssen, Lilly, MSD, Pfizer, Shire, Takeda, and Viatris. EN, AS, KK, YP, VP, SB, WRD, BH, JK, XL, AR, and KW are full-time employees of AbbVie, and might hold AbbVie stock or stock options. ZR declares no competing interests. GD’H reports being a consultant or speaker for AbbVie, ActoGeniX, AIM, Allergan, Amgen, Arena, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene (formerly Receptos), Celltrion, Cosmo Technologies, Elan, Eli Lilly, enGene, Dr Falk Pharma, Ferring, Galapagos, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, Giuliani, Given Imaging, GSK, Gossamer Bio, Janssen Biologics, MSD, Neovacs, Norgine, Novo Nordisk, Otsuka, PDL BioPharma, Prometheus, Progenity, Pfizer, Alimentiv (formerly Robarts Clinical Trials), Salix, Seres and Nestle, Schering-Plough, SetPoint, Shire, Takeda, Tillotts, Tramedico, UCB, Versant, and Vifor; and reports research grants from AbbVie, Dr Falk Pharma, Given Imaging, Janssen, MSD, and PhotoPill., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Risankizumab, an interleukin (IL)-23 p19 inhibitor, was evaluated for safety and efficacy as induction therapy in patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease., Methods: ADVANCE and MOTIVATE were randomised, double-masked, placebo-controlled, phase 3 induction studies. Eligible patients aged 16-80 years with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease, previously showing intolerance or inadequate response to one or more approved biologics or conventional therapy (ADVANCE) or to biologics (MOTIVATE), were randomly assigned to receive a single dose of intravenous risankizumab (600 mg or 1200 mg) or placebo (2:2:1 in ADVANCE, 1:1:1 in MOTIVATE) at weeks 0, 4, and 8. We used interactive response technology for random assignment, with stratification by number of previous failed biologics, corticosteroid use at baseline, and Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn's disease (SES-CD). All patients and study personnel (excluding pharmacists who prepared intravenous solutions) were masked to treatment allocation throughout the study. Coprimary endpoints were clinical remission (defined by Crohn's disease activity index [CDAI] or patient-reported outcome criteria [average daily stool frequency and abdominal pain score]) and endoscopic response at week 12. The intention-to-treat population (all eligible patients who received at least one dose of study drug in the 12-week induction period) was analysed for efficacy outcomes. Safety was assessed in all patients who received at least one dose of study drug. Both trials were registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03105128 (ADVANCE) and NCT03104413 (MOTIVATE), and are now complete., Findings: Participants were enrolled between May 10, 2017, and Aug 24, 2020 (ADVANCE trial), and Dec 18, 2017 and Sept 9, 2020 (MOTIVATE trial). In ADVANCE, 931 patients were assigned to either risankizumab 600 mg (n=373), risankizumab 1200 mg (n=372), or placebo (n=186). In MOTIVATE, 618 patients were assigned to risankizumab 600 mg (n=206), risankizumab 1200 mg (n=205), or placebo (n=207). The primary analysis population comprised 850 participants in ADVANCE and 569 participants in MOTIVATE. All coprimary endpoints at week 12 were met in both trials with both doses of risankizumab (p values ≤0·0001). In ADVANCE, CDAI clinical remission rate was 45% (adjusted difference 21%, 95% CI 12-29; 152/336) with risankizumab 600 mg and 42% (17%, 8-25; 141/339) with risankizumab 1200 mg versus 25% (43/175) with placebo; stool frequency and abdominal pain score clinical remission rate was 43% (22%, 14-30; 146/336) with risankizumab 600 mg and 41% (19%, 11-27; 139/339) with risankizumab 1200 mg versus 22% (38/175) with placebo; and endoscopic response rate was 40% (28%, 21-35; 135/336) with risankizumab 600 mg and 32% (20%, 14-27; 109/339) with risankizumab 1200 mg versus 12% (21/175) with placebo. In MOTIVATE, CDAI clinical remission rate was 42% (22%, 13-31; 80/191) with risankizumab 600 mg and 40% (21%, 12-29; 77/191) with risankizumab 1200 mg versus 20% (37/187) with placebo; stool frequency and abdominal pain score clinical remission rate was 35% (15%, 6-24; 66/191) with risankizumab 600 mg and 40% (20%, 12-29; 76/191) with risankizumab 1200 mg versus 19% (36/187) with placebo; and endoscopic response rate was 29% (18%, 10-25; 55/191) with risankizumab 600 mg and 34% (23%, 15-31; 65/191) with risankizumab 1200 mg versus 11% (21/187) with placebo. The overall incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events was similar among the treatment groups in both trials. Three deaths occurred during induction (two in the placebo group [ADVANCE] and one in the risankizumab 1200 mg group [MOTIVATE]). The death in the risankizumab-treated patient was deemed unrelated to the study drug., Interpretation: Risankizumab was effective and well tolerated as induction therapy in patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease., Funding: AbbVie., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests GD’H reports being a consultant or speaker for AbbVie, ActoGeniX, AIM, Allergan, Amgen, Arena, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene (formerly Receptos), Celltrion, Cosmo Technologies, Elan, Eli Lilly, enGene, Dr Falk Pharma, Ferring, Galapagos, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, Giuliani, Given Imaging, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Gossamer Bio, Janssen Biologics, Merck, Sharp & Dohme (MSD), Neovacs, Norgine, Novo Nordisk, Otsuka, PDL BioPharma, Prometheus Laboratories, Progenity, Pfizer, Alimentiv (formerly Robarts Clinical Trials), Salix, Seres and Nestle, Schering-Plough, SetPoint, Shire, Takeda, Tillotts, Tramedico, UCB, Versant, and Vifor; and reports research grants from AbbVie, Dr Falk Pharma, Given Imaging, Janssen, MSD, and PhotoPill. RP reports being a consultant or speaker for AI4GI, AbbVie, Arena, Amgen, Atlantic Healthcare, BioBalance, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), Celgene, Coronado Biosciences, Cosmo Technologies, Eagle, Eisai Medical Research, Elan, Eli Lilly, EnGene, Ferring, Genentech, Gilead, Given Imaging, GSK, Janssen, Lycera, Meda, Merck & Co, Merck Research, Merck Serono, Novo Nordisk, PDL Biopharma, Pfizer, Prometheus, Protagonist, Celgene, Alimentiv, Salix, Soz, Sanofi Genzyme, Shire, Sigmoid, Sublimity, Takeda, and Theravance. FB reports being a consultant or speaker for AbbVie, Arena, Celltrion, Falk, Ferring, Janssen, Mundipharma, MSD, Pfizer, Sandoz, Takeda, Vifor; and received research grants from AbbVie, Amgen, Chiesi, Ipsen, Janssen, and MSD. PB has received financial support for research from AbbVie, Amgen, Janssen, Mundipharma, Mylan, and Pfizer; lecture fees from AbbVie, Celltrion, Janssen, Pfizer, and Takeda; and advisory board fees from AbbVie, Arena Pharmaceuticals, BMS, Hospira, Janssen, Lilly, Merck, Mundipharma, Pentax Medical, Pfizer, PSI CRO, Roche, Sandoz, and Takeda. J-FC reports research grants from AbbVie, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Takeda; received payment for lectures from AbbVie, Amgen, Allergan, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Shire, and Takeda; received consulting fees from AbbVie, Amgen, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, BMS, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Galmed Research, Genentech, GSK, Janssen, Kaleido Biosciences, Imedex, Immunic, Iterative Scopes, Merck, Microba, Novartis, PBM Capital, Pfizer, Sanofi, Takeda, TiGenix, Vifor; and holds stock options in Intestinal Biotech Development. SD reports research grants from AbbVie, Alimentiv, Amgen, Genentech, Gilead, Janssen, Pfizer, Celgene, Seres Therapeutics, Takeda, and UCB; and has been a consultant for AbbVie, Allergan, Amgen, BMS, Celgene, Celltrion, Janssen, Lilly, Pfizer, Takeda, and UCB. MD reports being a consultant for AbbVie, Arena, BMS, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Gilead, Janssen, Merck, Pfizer, Prometheus Laboratories, Takeda, and UCB; and received research grants from Janssen, AbbVie, and Prometheus Laboratories. BGF reports grants or research support from AbbVie, Amgen, AstraZeneca (MedImmune), Atlantic Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Celltech, Genentech (subsidiary of Roche), Gilead Sciences, GSK, Janssen Research & Development, Pfizer, Celgene (Receptos), Sanofi, Santarus, Takeda Development Center Americas, Tillotts Pharma, and UCB; being a consultant for Abbott (AbbVie), AgomAB Therapeutics, Allakos, Allergan, Amgen, Applied Molecular Transport, Aptevo Therapeutics, AstraZeneca, Atlantic Pharma, BioMx Israel, Boehringer Ingelheim, BMS, Calypso Biotech, Celgene, Connect BioPharma, Everest Clinical Research, Galapagos, Galen Atlantica, Genentech (Roche), Gilead, Gossamer Pharma, GSK, Roche, Index Pharma, ImmunExt, Janssen, Kaleido Biosciences, Kyowa Kakko Kirin, Lilly, Lument AB, Merck, Millenium, Mylan, Nestles, Nextbiotix, Origo BioPharma, Pandion Therapeutics, ParImmune, Parvus Therapeutics, Pfizer, Prometheus Laboratories, Progenity, Protagonist, Qu Biologics, Rebiotix, Celgene, Salix Pharma, Sandoz, Sanofi, Shire, Surrozen, Takeda, Tillotts, UCB Pharma, VHsquared, Ysios, and Zealand Pharma; being on speakers bureau for AbbVie, Janssen, and Takeda; scientific advisory board membership with AbbVie, Allergan, Amgen, Astra Zeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, BMS, Celgene, Genentech (Roche), Janssen, Novartis, Origo BioPharma, Pfizer, Prometheus Laboratories, Protagonist, Takeda, Tillotts Pharma; board of directors membership with Alimentiv; and being a shareholder of stock with Gossamer Pharma. TH reports speaker or consultant fees from Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, EA Pharma, AbbVie, JIMRO, Zeria Pharmaceutical, Kyorin Pharmaceutical, Takeda, Pfizer Japan, Mochida Pharmaceutical, Celgene, Janssen, and Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical; and reports research grants from Alfresa Pharma, EA pharma, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, AbbVie, JIMRO, Zeria Pharmaceutical, Daiichi-Sankyo, Kyorin Pharmaceutical, Nippon Kayaku, Takeda, Pfizer, and Mochida Pharmaceutical. AL reports being a consultant, speaker, or stockholder with AbbVie, Takeda, Janssen, and Ferring; and reports research grants from AbbVie, Takeda, Janssen, and Eli Lilly. JOL reports advisory board membership or speaker fees from AbbVie, Allergan, BMS, Celgene, Celtrion, Ferring, Gilead, GSK, Janssen, MSD, Napp, Pfizer, and Takeda; and research grants from AbbVie, Gilead, Takeda, and Pfizer. EVL reports being a consultant for AbbVie, Amgen, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, BMS, Calibr, Celgene, Genentech, Gilead, Gossamer Bio, Iterative Scopes, Janssen, Lilly, Morphic, Ono Pharmaceutical, Pfizer, Protagonist, Scipher Medicine, Sun Pharma, Surrozen, Takeda, and UCB; research support from Alimentiv (Robarts Clinical Trials); and research grants from AbbVie, Amgen, BMS, Genentech, Gilead, Gossamer Bio, Janssen, Pfizer, Celgene (Receptos), Takeda, Theravance, and UCB. JP reports being a consultant or speaker for AbbVie, Arena, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Celltrion, Ferring, Genentech, GSK, Janssen, Nestle, Origo, Pandion, Pfizer, Progenity, Alimentiv, Roche, Shire, Takeda, Theravance, and Wasserman; and research grants from AbbVie and Pfizer. LP-B reports personal fees from Galapagos, AbbVie, Janssen, Genentech, Ferring, Tillots, Celltrion, Takeda, Pfizer, Index Pharmaceuticals, Sandoz, Celgene, Biogen, Samsung Bioepis, Inotrem, Allergan, MSD, Roche, Arena, Gilead, Amgen, BMS, Vifor, Norgine, Mylan, Lilly, Fresenius Kabi, OSE Immunotherapeutics, Enthera, Theravance, Pandion Therapeutics, Gossamer Bio, Viatris, and Thermo Fisher Scientific; grants from AbbVie, MSD, Takeda, and Fresenius Kabi; and holds stock options in Clinical Trials Mobile Application. DTR reports speaker or consultant fees from AbbVie, Abgenomics, Allergan, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Bellatrix Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, BMS, CDx Diagnostics, Syneos, Check-Cap, Dizal Pharmaceuticals, Genentech (Roche), Gilead Sciences, Ichnos Sciences (formerly Glenmark Pharmaceuticals), InDex Pharmaceuticals, Iterative Scopes, Janssen, Lilly, Materia Prima, Narrow River Management, Pfizer, Prometheus Laboratories, Reistone, Takeda, and Techlab; and research grants from Takeda. WJS reports research grants from AbbVie, Abivax, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Janssen, Lilly, Pfizer, Prometheus Biosciences, Seres Therapeutics, Shire, Takeda, Theravance Biopharma; consulting fees from AbbVie, Abivax, Admirx, Alfasigma, Alimentiv (Robarts Clinical Trials), Alivio Therapeutics, Allakos, Allergan, Amgen, Applied Molecular Transport, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Avexegen Therapeutics, Salix (subsidiary of Bausch Health), Beigene, Bellatrix Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, Boston Pharmaceuticals, BMS, Celgene, Celltrion, Cellularity, Conatus, Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, Escalier Biosciences, Ferring, Forbion, Equillium, Genentech (Roche), Gilead Sciences, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Gossamer Bio, Immunic Therapeutics (formerly Vital Therapies), Incyte, Index Pharmaceuticals, Intact Therapeutics, Janssen, Kyowa Kirin Pharmaceutical Research, Kyverna Therapeutics, Landos Biopharma, Lilly, Miraca Life Sciences, Nivalis Therapeutics, Novartis, Nutrition Science Partners, Oppilan Pharma (acquired by Ventyx Biosciences), Otsuka, Pandion Therapeutics, Paul Hastings, Pfizer, Progenity, Prometheus Biosciences, Prometheus Laboratories, Protagonists Therapeutics, Provention Bio, Reistone Biopharma, Ritter Pharmaceuticals, Seres Therapeutics, Shanghai Pharma Biotherapeutics, Shire, Shoreline Biosciences, Sienna Biopharmaceuticals, Sigmoid Biotechnologies, Sterna Biologicals, Sublimity Therapeutics, Surrozen, Takeda, Theravance Biopharma, Thetis Pharmaceuticals, Tigenix, Tillotts Pharma, UCB Pharma, Vendata Biosciences, Ventyx Biosciences, Vimalan Biosciences, Vivelix Pharmaceuticals, Vivreon Biosciences, Zealand Pharma; stock or stock options from Allakos, BeiGene, Gossamer Bio, Oppilan Pharma (acquired by Ventyx Biosciences), Prometheus Biosciences, Prometheus Laboratories, Progenity, Shoreline Biosciences, Ventyx Biosciences, Vimalan Biosciences, Vivreon Biosciences; and employment at Shoreline Biosciences. SS reports consultant or speaker fees from AbbVie, Allergosan, Amgen, Arena, BMS, Celltrion, Falk Pharma, Ferring, Galapagos, Gilead, Genentech (Roche), GSK, IMAB, Janssen, Lilly, MSD, Pfizer, Shire, Takeda, and Viatris. MF reports being a consultant or speaker for AbbVie, Amgen, Biogen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celgene, Celltrion, Dr Falk, Ferring, Janssen-Cilag, Lamepro, Eli Lilly, Medtronic, MSD, Mylan, Pfizer, Regeneron, Samsung Bioepis, Sandoz, Takeda, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Truvion Healthcare; and research grants from AbbVie, Amgen, Biogen, Janssen, Pfizer, and Takeda. EN, AS, KK, YP, VP, SB, WRD, BH, JK, XL, AR, and KW are full-time employees of AbbVie, and own AbbVie stock. ZR declares no competing interests., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background and Aim: Expression of FimH adhesin by invasive Escherichia coli in the gastrointestinal tract of patients with Crohn's disease (CD) facilitates binding to epithelial glycoproteins and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Sibofimloc is a first-in-class FimH blocker that showed little systemic absorption in healthy volunteers. The current study evaluated systemic absorption, safety, and effect on inflammatory biomarkers of sibofimloc in patients with CD., Methods: This was an open-label, multicenter phase 1b study in adults with active CD. In part 1, two patients received a single oral dose of 3000-mg sibofimloc followed by 1500 mg b.i.d. for 13 days. In part 2, six patients received 1500-mg sibofimloc b.i.d. for 13 days. Blood was drawn for pharmacokinetic and biomarker analysis, and stool was collected for biomarker and microbiome analysis., Results: Eight patients with active ileal or ileocolonic CD were enrolled into the study. Systemic sibofimloc exposure was low. Sibofimloc was well tolerated with only grade 1-2 events observed. Several pro-inflammatory biomarkers, including IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, IFN-γ, and calprotectin, were decreased in stool by end of study., Conclusions: This first study of the novel FimH blocker, sibofimloc, in patients with active CD demonstrated minimal systemic exposure with good tolerance, while decreasing several inflammatory biomarkers. EudraCT number: 2017-003279-70., (© 2022 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Background: BI 695501 is a biosimilar that has demonstrated similar efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity to adalimumab reference product in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and chronic plaque psoriasis. The VOLTAIRE-CD study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of BI 695501 with adalimumab reference product in patients with Crohn's disease., Methods: This phase 3, randomised, double-blind study was done at 92 centres in 12 countries across Europe and the USA in patients aged 18-80 years with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease (Crohn's Disease Activity Index [CDAI] score 220-450). Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 using an interactive response technology system to the BI 695501 group or adalimumab reference product group, stratified by previous exposure to infliximab (yes vs no) and simple endoscopic score for Crohn's disease at screening (<16 vs ≥16). All investigators involved in trial assessments or procedures and all patients were masked to treatment allocation until week 24. Patients received BI 695501 (40 mg/0·8 mL formulation) or adalimumab reference product (either 40 mg/0·4 mL citrate-free or 40 mg/0·8 mL) 160 mg on day 1 and 80 mg on day 15, followed by 40 mg every 2 weeks, via subcutaneous injection. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with clinical response (CDAI decrease ≥70 points) at week 4, with an exploratory non-inferiority margin of 0·76 for the lower limit of the two-sided 90% CI of the risk ratio (RR). The primary analysis was done in a modified full analysis set of all patients who received at least one dose of study medication and had a baseline and at least one post-baseline CDAI assessment. Safety was assessed in all patients who received at least one dose of study medication. After week 4, responders were treated until week 46; those randomly assigned to adalimumab reference product switched to BI 695501 at week 24. This study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02871635) and EudraCT (2016-000612-14)., Findings: Between Jan 4, 2017, and April 5, 2018, 147 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to BI 695501 (n=72) or adalimumab reference product (n=75). At week 4, 61 (90%) of 68 patients in the BI 695501 group and 68 (94%) of 72 in the adalimumab reference product group had a clinical response (adjusted RR 0·945 [90% CI 0·870-1·028]). In the safety analysis set, 45 (63%) of 72 patients in the BI 695501 group and 42 (56%) of 75 in the adalimumab reference product group had an adverse event during weeks 0-24; 31 (43%) and 34 (45%) had adverse events during weeks 24-56. The most common drug-related treatment-emergent adverse events during weeks 0-24 were weight increase (three [4%] patients in the BI 695501 group) and injection-site erythema and upper respiratory tract infection (three [4%] patients for each event) in the adalimumab reference product group. The only drug-related TEAEs reported in two or more patients during weeks 24-56 were weight increase and increased γ-glutamyltransferase, which occured in two (3%) patients each in the BI 695501 group. No drug-related TEAEs were reported in two or more patients during weeks 24-56 in the adalimumab reference product followed by BI 699501 group. Serious adverse events occurred in six (8%) patients in the BI 695501 group and eight (11%) in the adalimumab reference group between weeks 0-24, and two (3%) and nine (12%) patients between weeks 24-56. Adverse events of special interest occurred in two (3%) patients in each treatment group during weeks 0-24 (acute sinusitis and pulmonary tuberculosis in the BI 695501 group and anal abscess and postoperative wound infection in the adalimumab reference product group) and two (3%) patients in each group during weeks 24-56 (psoas abscess and hypersensitivity in the BI 695501 group and pulmonary tuberculosis and erythematous rash in the adalimumab reference product followed by BI 699501 group)., Interpretation: Safety and efficacy were similar in patients with Crohn's disease treated with BI 695501 or adalimumab reference product. Treatment benefits were maintained in patients receiving adalimumab reference product who switched to BI 695501. These results further support the existing licensure of BI 695501 as an alternative to adalimumab reference product for patients with Crohn's disease, as well as the other indications for which BI 695501 is approved., Funding: Boehringer Ingelheim., Competing Interests: Declaration of interests SH reports consultant roles with Boehringer Ingelheim, Celltrion, Gilead, Merck, Nestle, Progenity, Salix, Samsung Bioepis, Seres Therapeutics, Tigenex, and VHsquared; consultant and clinical research (institution) roles with Allergan, Amgen, Celgene, Genentech, Lilly, GSK, Novartis, Prometheus, Receptos, and UCB Pharma; consultant, clinical research (institution), and speaker roles with AbbVie, Janssen, Pfizer, and Takeda; and consultant and data safety monitoring board roles with Arena and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS). BL reports previous employment by Boehringer Ingelheim. SB, EB, and VM report current employment by Boehringer Ingelheim. SS reports consulting or advisory board roles with AbbVie, Arena, BMS, Biogen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Celltrion, Celgene, IMAB, IMAB-Biopharma, Galapagos, Gilead, Merck Sharp and Dohme, Mylan, Pfizer, Fresenius, Janssen, Takeda, Theravance, Provention Bio, Protagonist, and Falk., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background & Aims: This study compared pharmacokinetics, symptomatic and endoscopic efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of a subcutaneous formulation of the infliximab biosimilar CT-P13 (CT-P13 SC) vs intravenous CT-P13 (CT-P13 IV) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)., Methods: This randomized, multicenter, open-label, parallel-group, phase 1 study enrolled tumor necrosis factor inhibitor-naïve patients with active ulcerative colitis (total Mayo score 6-12 points with endoscopic subscore ≥2) or Crohn's disease (Crohn's Disease Activity Index 220-450 points) at 50 centers. After CT-P13 IV induction at Week (W) 0/W2, patients were randomized (1:1) to receive CT-P13 SC every 2 weeks (q2w) from W6 to W54 or CT-P13 IV every 8 weeks from W6 to W22. At W30, all patients receiving CT-P13 IV switched to CT-P13 SC q2w until W54. The primary endpoint was noninferiority of CT-P13 SC to CT-P13 IV for observed predose CT-P13 concentration at W22 (C trough,W22 ), concluded if the lower bound of the 2-sided 90% confidence interval (CI) for the ratio of geometric least-squares means exceeded 80%., Results: Overall, 66 and 65 patients were randomized to CT-P13 SC and CT-P13 IV, respectively. The primary endpoint of noninferiority was met with a geometric least-squares means ratio for C trough,W22 of 1154.17% (90% CI 786.37-1694.00; n = 59 [CT-P13 SC]; n = 57 [CT-P13 IV]). W30/W54 clinical remission rates were comparable between arms. Other efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity assessments were also broadly comparable between arms, including after switching., Conclusions: The pharmacokinetic noninferiority of CT-P13 SC to CT-P13 IV, and the comparable efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity profiles, support the potential suitability of CT-P13 SC treatment in IBD. ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02883452., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background & Aims: A large unmet therapeutic need exists in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Inhibition of interleukin (IL)-6 appears to be effective, but the therapeutic benefit of a complete IL6/IL6 receptor (IL6R) blockade is limited by profound immunosuppression. Evidence has emerged that chronic proinflammatory activity of IL6 is mainly mediated by trans-signaling via a complex of IL6 bound to soluble IL6R engaging the gp130 co-receptor without the need for membrane-bound IL6R. We have developed a decoy protein, sgp130Fc, that exclusively blocks IL6 proinflammatory trans-signaling and has shown efficacy in preclinical models of IBD, without signs of immunosuppression., Methods: We present a 12-week, open-label, prospective phase 2a trial (FUTURE) in 16 patients with active IBD treated with the trans-signaling inhibitor olamkicept (sgp130Fc) to assess the molecular mechanisms, safety, and effectiveness of IL6 trans-signaling blockade in vivo. We performed in-depth molecular profiling at various timepoints before and after therapy induction to identify the mechanism of action of olamkicept., Results: Olamkicept was well tolerated and induced clinical response in 44% and clinical remission in 19% of patients. Clinical effectiveness coincided with target inhibition (reduction of phosphorylated STAT3) and marked transcriptional changes in the inflamed mucosa. An olamkicept-specific transcriptional signature, distinguishable from remission signatures of anti-tumor necrosis factor (infliximab) or anti-integrin (vedolizumab) therapies was identified., Conclusions: Our data suggest that blockade of IL6 trans-signaling holds great promise for the therapy of IBD and should undergo full clinical development as a new immunoregulatory therapy for IBD. (EudraCT no., Nu 2016-000205-36)., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Intra-abdominal collections in the form of abscesses or matted bowel loops, called phlegmons, might occur in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). The clinical characteristics and management of such conditions are not well described. We aim to characterize CD-related intra-abdominal collections clinically, and identify predictors of need for surgical interventions and the time to surgery., Methods: We utilized the Saudi Inflammatory Bowel Disease Information System (IBDIS) database to identify all patients treated for radiologically proven intra-abdominal abscesses or phlegmons since inception. Demographics, clinical data, clinical course, and treatment outcomes were recorded. Logistic regression analysis and survival analysis were used to identify predictors of surgical resection and differences in time to surgery between patient subgroups, respectively., Results: A total of 734 patients with a diagnosis of CD were screened and 75 patients were identified. The mean age was 25.6 ± 9.9 years and 51% were males. Nearly 60% of patients had abscesses larger than 3 cm while 13% had smaller abscesses and 36% had phlegmons. On presentation, the most commonly reported symptom was abdominal pain (99%) followed by weight loss (27%). About 89% of patients were treated with antibiotics during hospitalization for an average of 2.7 weeks. Steroids were prescribed for 52% of patients and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) antagonists for 17%. Surgical resection was required for 33 patients (44% of the cohort) while 51% were managed with antibiotics and/or percutaneous drainage. The most common surgical intervention was ileocecal resection (45%). Although patients who underwent follow-up imaging were more likely to require early surgical intervention (P = 0.04), no statistically significant predictor of surgery could be identified from this cohort. Time to surgery varied numerically according to abscess size (HR = 1.18, 95% CI = 0.62-2.27, P = 0.61)., Conclusions: Although the majority of patients with CD-related intra-abdominal collections underwent surgical resection in this cohort, no obvious predictors of surgical intervention could be identified. The decision to perform early surgery appeared to be influenced by the findings observed on cross-sectional imaging during the follow-up of these collections., Competing Interests: None

The introduction of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors has significantly changed the treatment landscape in Crohn's disease (CD). The overall therapeutic achievements with TNF inhibitors such as infliximab, adalimumab, and certolizumab pegol paved the way to push the boundaries of treatment goals beyond symptomatic relief and toward cessation of objective signs of inflammation, including endoscopic remission. Even though these agents are widely used for the treatment of moderate to severe CD, heterogeneity still exists in translating evidence-based guidelines on the use of anti-TNF agents into actual treatment algorithms in CD. This might be due to several reasons including disparities in health expenditure policies; lack of harmonization between countries; and variations in assessment of disease severity, use of disease monitoring tools, or application of treatment targets by physicians. With the advent of biosimilars, patent-free versions of reference biologics are now available to minimize health inequalities in drug availability. In this context, this article aims to provide practical clinical guidance for the use of infliximab and adalimumab biosimilars in patients with moderate to severe CD by outlining different clinical scenarios that patients may encounter during their treatment journey., (© 2020 Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.)

Background and Aims: Endoscopic assessment of mucosal appearance by independent central reading has become the standard method to assess Crohn's disease activity in clinical trials. The performance characteristics of various endoscopy reading models have yet to be systematically evaluated., Methods: This substudy included patients with Crohn's disease in the exploratory induction cohort of the BERGAMOT trial (NCT02394028) randomly assigned to etrolizumab or placebo. Endoscopies conducted at baseline and week 14 were independently scored using the Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn's Disease (SES-CD) by a local reader (LR) and 2 central readers (CRs). Five endoscopy reading models were compared: single LR, single CR, average of 2 CRs, and 2 models incorporating the LR and 1 or 2 CRs depending on alignment between the LR and the CR, defined according to a sliding scale applied to a range of scores., Results: Five hundred thirty-five videos were scored. Models involving 2 readers demonstrated lower placebo rates (3.4%) than the single LR (11.9%) and the single CR (6.8%) models. Treatment effect size based on endoscopic improvement (≥50% reduction in SES-CD from baseline) was highest with the 2 models incorporating the LR and 1 or 2 CRs (Δ = 16.2%). Further, in the etrolizumab arm, models with 2 readers demonstrated the lowest variability for the SES-CD., Conclusions: Central endoscopy reading models in Crohn's disease have an impact on placebo response rates and effect size. Incorporating the LR appears to be important because models using both CRs and LRs resulted in the greatest treatment effect size for endoscopic improvement with etrolizumab, lower placebo rates, and reduced variability., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Background: CALM was a randomized phase 3 trial in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) that demonstrated improved endoscopic outcomes when treatment was escalated based on cutoffs for inflammatory biomarkers, fecal calprotectin (FC), C-reactive protein (CRP), and CD Activity Index (CDAI) remission vs CDAI response alone. The purpose of this post hoc analysis of CALM was to identify drivers of treatment escalation and evaluate the association between biomarker cutoff concentrations and endoscopic end points., Methods: The proportion of patients achieving CD Endoscopic Index of Severity (CDEIS) <4 and no deep ulcers 48 weeks after randomization was evaluated according to CRP <5 mg/L or ≥5 mg/L and FC <250 μg/g or ≥250 μg/g. Subgroup analyses were performed according to disease location, and sensitivity analyses were conducted in patients with elevated CRP and/or FC at baseline. The association between endoscopic end points and biomarker cutoffs was performed using χ 2 test., Results: The proportion of patients who achieved the primary end point CDEIS <4 and no deep ulcers was significantly greater for those with FC <250 µg/g (74%; P < 0.001), with an additive effect for CRP <5 mg/L. The association of FC <250 µg/g with improved endoscopic outcomes was independent of disease location, although the greatest association was observed for ileocolonic disease. Fecal calprotectin <250 µg/g, CRP <5 mg/L, and CDAI <150 gave a sensitivity/specificity of 72%/63% and positive/negative predictive values of 86%/42% for CDEIS <4 and no deep ulcers 48 weeks after randomization., Conclusion: This post hoc analysis of CALM demonstrated that a cutoff of FC <250 µg/g is a useful surrogate marker for mucosal healing in CD., (© 2020 Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.)

Background: Gene-gene interactions (G × G) potentially play a role in the etiology of complex human diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and may partially explain their 'missing heritability'., Methods: Using the largest genotype dataset available for IBD (16,636 Crohn's disease (CD) and 12,888 ulcerative colitis (UC) cases) we analyzed G × G with the powerful case-only (CO) design. We studied 169 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for CD (156 for UC), previously shown to be associated with the respective diseases. To ensure the validity of the CO design, we confined our analysis to pairs of unlinked SNPs. We used principal component analysis at the center level to adjust for possible causes of genotypic association other than G × G, such as population stratification and genotyping batch effects. Results from center-wise logistic regression analyses were combined by a random effects meta-analysis., Results: A number of nominally significant ( p  < .05) G × G interactions were observed, but none of these withstood the Bonferroni multiple testing correction. However, one SNP pair, comprising rs26528 in the IL27 gene and rs9297145 in the KPNA7 gene region was characterized by an interaction odds ratio of 1.18 (95% CI: 1.10-1.27) for CD and a p -value of 7.75 × 10 -6 . Owing to the concurrent role of the IL27 and KPNA7 genes in NF-κB signaling, a master regulator of pro- and anti-inflammatory processes in IBD, the observed interaction also has biological plausibility., Conclusions: We were able to exemplify the utility of the CO design for analyzing G × G, but had to recognize that such interactions are probably scarce for IBD.

Background and Aims: Intestinal inflammation in inflammatory bowel diseases [IBD] is thought to be T cell mediated and therefore dependent on the interaction between the T cell receptor [TCR] and human leukocyte antigen [HLA] proteins expressed on antigen presenting cells. The collection of all TCRs in one individual, known as the TCR repertoire, is characterised by enormous diversity and inter-individual variability. It was shown that healthy monozygotic [MZ] twins are more similar in their TCR repertoire than unrelated individuals. Therefore MZ twins, concordant or discordant for IBD, may be useful to identify disease-related and non-genetic factors in the TCR repertoire which could potentially be used as disease biomarkers., Methods: Employing unique molecular barcoding that can distinguish between polymerase chain reaction [PCR] artefacts and true sequence variation, we performed deep TCRα and TCRβ repertoire profiling of the peripheral blood of 28 MZ twin pairs from Denmark and Germany, 24 of whom were discordant and four concordant for IBD., Results: We observed disease- and smoking-associated traits such as sharing, diversity and abundance of specific clonotypes in the TCR repertoire of IBD patients, and particularly in patients with active disease, compared with their healthy twins., Conclusions: Our findings identified TCR repertoire features specific for smokers and IBD patients, particularly when signs of disease activity were present. These findings are a first step towards the application of TCR repertoire analyses as a valuable tool to characterise inflammatory bowel diseases and to identify potential biomarkers and true disease causes., (© European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO) 2019.)

Background & Aims: We investigated the effects of inducing deep remission in patients with early Crohn's disease (CD)., Methods: We collected follow-up data from 122 patients (mean age, 31.2 ± 11.3 y) with early, moderate to severe CD (median duration, 0.2 years; interquartile range, 0.1-0.5) who participated in the Effect of Tight Control Management on CD (CALM) study, at 31 sites, representing 50% of the original CALM patient population. Fifty percent of patients (n = 61) were randomly assigned to a tight control strategy (increased therapy based on fecal level of calprotectin, serum level of C-reactive protein, and symptoms), and 50% were assigned to conventional management. We categorized patients as those who were vs were not in deep remission (CD endoscopic index of severity scores below 4, with no deep ulcerations or steroid treatment, for 8 or more weeks) at the end of the follow-up period (median, 3.02 years; range, 0.05-6.26 years). The primary outcome was a composite of major adverse outcomes that indicate CD progression during the follow-up period: new internal fistulas or abscesses, strictures, perianal fistulas or abscesses, or hospitalization or surgery for CD. Kaplan-Meier and penalized Cox regression with bootstrapping were used to compare composite rates between patients who achieved or did not achieve remission at the end of the follow-up period., Results: Major adverse outcomes were reported for 34 patients (27.9%) during the follow-up period. Significantly fewer patients in deep remission at the end of the CALM study had major adverse outcomes during the follow-up period (P = .01). When we adjusted for potential confounders, deep remission (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.19; 95% confidence interval, 0.07-0.31) was significantly associated with a lower risk of major adverse outcome., Conclusions: In an analysis of follow-up data from the CALM study, we associated induction of deep remission in early, moderate to severe CD with decreased risk of disease progression over a median time of 3 years, regardless of tight control or conventional management strategy., (Copyright © 2020 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background & Aims: We evaluated the efficacy and safety of upadacitinib, an oral selective Janus kinase 1 inhibitor, in a randomized trial of patients with Crohn's disease (CD)., Methods: We performed a double-blind, phase 2 trial in adults with moderate to severe CD and inadequate response or intolerance to immunosuppressants or tumor necrosis factor antagonists. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1:1:1:1) to groups given placebo; or 3 mg, 6 mg, 12 mg, or 24 mg upadacitinib twice daily; or 24 mg upadacitinib once daily and were evaluated by ileocolonoscopy at weeks 12 or 16 of the induction period. Patients who completed week 16 were re-randomized to a 36-week period of maintenance therapy with upadacitinib. The primary endpoints were clinical remission at week 16 and endoscopic remission at week 12 or 16 using the multiple comparison procedure and modeling and the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test, with a 2-sided level of 10%., Results: Among the 220 patients in the study, clinical remission was achieved by 13% of patients receiving 3 mg upadacitinib, 27% of patients receiving 6 mg upadacitinib (P < .1 vs placebo), 11% of patients receiving 12 mg upadacitinib, and 22% of patients receiving 24 mg upadacitinib twice daily, and by 14% of patients receiving 24 mg upadacitinib once daily, vs 11% of patients receiving placebo. Endoscopic remission was achieved by 10% (P < .1 vs placebo), 8%, 8% (P < .1 vs placebo), 22% (P < .01 vs placebo), and 14% (P < .05 vs placebo) of patients receiving upadacitinib, respectively, vs none of the patients receiving placebo. Endoscopic but not clinical remission increased with dose during the induction period. Efficacy was maintained for most endpoints through week 52. During the induction period, patients in the upadacitinib groups had higher incidences of infections and serious infections vs placebo. Patients in the twice-daily 12 mg and 24 mg upadacitinib groups had significant increases in total, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels compared with patients in the placebo group., Conclusions: In a phase 2 trial of patients with CD, upadacitinib induced endoscopic remission in a significant proportion of patients compared with placebo. Upadacitinib's benefit/risk profile supports further development for treatment of CD. (Clinicaltrials.gov, Number: NCT02365649)., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The objective was to assess the efficacy and safety of GED-0301, an antisense oligodeoxynucleotide to Smad7, in active Crohn's disease (CD)., Methods: This phase 3, blinded study randomized patients (1:1:1:1) to placebo or 1 of 3 once-daily oral GED-0301 regimens: 160 mg for 12 weeks followed by 40 mg continuously or alternating placebo with 40 or 160 mg every 4 weeks through week 52., Results: In all, 701 patients were randomized and received study medication before premature study termination; 78.6% (551/701) completed week 12, and 5.8% (41/701) completed week 52. The primary endpoint, clinical remission achievement (CD Activity Index score <150) at week 12, was attained in 22.8% of patients on GED-0301 vs 25% on placebo (P = 0.6210). At study termination, proportions of patients achieving clinical remission at week 52 were similar among individual GED-0301 groups and placebo. More placebo vs GED-0301 patients achieved endoscopic response (>50% decrease from baseline Simple Score for CD) at week 12 (18.1% vs 10.1%). Additional endoscopic endpoints were similar between groups at weeks 12 and 52. More placebo vs GED-0301 patients had clinical response (≥100-point decrease in the CD Activity Index score) at week 12 (44.4% vs 33.3%); at week 52, clinical response rates were similar. Adverse events were predominantly gastrointestinal and related to active CD, consistent with lack of clinical and endoscopic response to treatment. Two deaths occurred (GED-0301 total group) due to small intestinal obstruction and pneumonia; neither was suspected by the investigator to be treatment-related., Discussion: GED-0301 did not demonstrate efficacy vs placebo in active CD.

Background and Aim: Infliximab has been widely prescribed for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, the response rates to infliximab differ among patients. Therefore, we aimed to identify the genetic and clinical markers that predict infliximab response., Methods: A total of 139 Korean patients with IBD who received infliximab were classified according to infliximab response as follows: (i) primary response vs nonresponse and (ii) sustained response vs loss of response. We performed an association study using whole-exome sequencing data to identify genetic variants associated with infliximab response. Candidate variants were validated in 77 German patients with IBD. Stepwise multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify predictors., Results: We found five candidate variants that were associated with primary nonresponse to infliximab (P < 5 × 10 -6 ). Of the five variants, rs2228273 in ZNF133 was validated in German (combined P = 6.49 × 10 -7 ). We also identified the best genetic variant (rs9144, P = 4.60 × 10 -6 ) associated with the loss of infliximab response. In multivariate regression analysis, rs2228273 (P = 2.10 × 10 -5 ), concurrent azathioprine/6-mercaptopurine use, and bodyweight at the first infliximab use (< 50 kg) were associated with primary nonresponse. In addition, the Crohn's disease activity index at the first infliximab use and rs9144 (P = 0.001) were independently associated with the loss of response in patients with Crohn's disease., Conclusions: We identified clinical and genetic markers associated with infliximab response in IBD patients. Our findings could provide insights to maximize the efficacy of infliximab therapy in IBD patients., (© 2019 Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.)

Background: After years of concentrated research efforts, the exact cause of Crohn's disease (CD) remains unknown. Its accurate diagnosis, however, helps in management and preventing the onset of disease. Genome-wide association studies have identified 241 CD loci, but these carry small log odds ratios and are thus diagnostically uninformative., Methods: Here, we describe a machine learning method-AVA,Dx (Analysis of Variation for Association with Disease)-that uses exonic variants from whole exome or genome sequencing data to extract CD signal and predict CD status. Using the person-specific coding variation in genes from a panel of only 111 individuals, we built disease-prediction models informative of previously undiscovered disease genes. By additionally accounting for batch effects, we were able to accurately predict CD status for thousands of previously unseen individuals from other panels., Results: AVA,Dx highlighted known CD genes including NOD2 and new potential CD genes. AVA,Dx identified 16% (at strict cutoff) of CD patients at 99% precision and 58% of the patients (at default cutoff) with 82% precision in over 3000 individuals from separately sequenced panels., Conclusions: Larger training panels and additional features, including other types of genetic variants and environmental factors, e.g., human-associated microbiota, may improve model performance. However, the results presented here already position AVA,Dx as both an effective method for revealing pathogenesis pathways and as a CD risk analysis tool, which can improve clinical diagnostic time and accuracy. Links to the AVA,Dx Docker image and the BitBucket source code are at https://bromberglab.org/project/avadx/ .

Background: Clinical phenotypes in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients include ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). Moreover, genetic aetiology studies suggest a continuum of phenotypes from exclusively ileal to left-sided colonic disease., Patients and Methods: A nationwide registry (BioColitis Registry) prospectively recorded ∼900 UC-patients in Germany and in the CapColitis substudy, small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE) was consecutively offered at participating centres. The primary objective was to investigate the presence of small bowel lesions. In total, 127 UC-patients were included., Results: SBCE was evaluable in 125 of 127 UC-patients. Small bowel lesions were found in 16/125 (13%) patients, of which nine were classified as clinically significant [backwash ileitis (n=4) or lesions suggestive of CD (n=5)], and seven were not significant [biopsy-induced lesions (n=3) or single small bowel lesions (n=4)]. The SBCE results prompted diagnostic workups in all patients with clinically relevant lesions, and all patients with lesions suggestive for CD (4%) were re-classified as CD by the treating physicians., Conclusion: Systematic examination of 125 consecutive UC-patients failed to confirm a clinically important phenotype overlap with CD, as suggested by genetic aetiology studies. In five patients (4%) with small bowel lesions, the diagnosis was changed to CD.

Background and Aims: Analyses of Crohn's Disease [CD] studies of anti-TNF agents, including adalimumab, have reported higher remission rates among patients with shorter disease duration. To further explore the relationship between disease duration and clinical efficacy, we analysed a larger patient cohort., Methods: Data were pooled from 10 clinical trials in patients with moderately to severely active CD who received treatment with either adalimumab or placebo. Analyses of efficacy using Crohn's Disease Activity Index [CDAI] endpoints [remission, clinical response [CR]-70, CR-100, patient-reported outcome [PRO] remission] or Harvey-Bradshaw Index [HBI] endpoints [remission/response] were conducted for induction and maintenance treatment periods. Logistic regression was used for comparisons between adalimumab and placebo treatment. Cochran-Armitage trend tests were used for comparisons between disease-duration subgroups [<1 year, ≥1-<2 years, 2-≤5 years, and >5 years]., Results: During induction, the proportion of patients achieving CDAI remission was higher in adalimumab- versus placebo-treated patients [p <0.001] and was highest [adalimumab: 45.8%] in the <1 year subgroup compared with longer disease-duration subgroups [≥1-<2 years: 31.0%; 2-≤5 years: 23.1%; >5 years: 23.6%, Cochran-Armitage p = 0.026]. In the majority of maintenance treatment analyses, patients with <1 year disease duration had the highest efficacy responses, with statistically significant differences in remission rates across disease-duration subgroups., Conclusions: This analysis demonstrates that earlier initiation of adalimumab treatment shortly after diagnosis in patients with moderately to severely active CD leads to improved long-term clinical outcomes., (© European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation (ECCO) 2019.)

Background: One of the therapy goals for Crohn's disease (CD) is glucocorticoid-free remission. Studies have shown care setting-specific variations in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) management., Aims: The principal objective of this study was to assess concordance between patient-reported and physician-reported outcomes in two different care settings (IBD centers and community practices)., Methods: Data of overall and long-term (≥ 3 months) glucocorticoid, immunosuppressant, and biologics use in participants ≥ 18 years old with a confirmed diagnosis of CD were collected. HCPs were grouped by IBD centers and community practices. Quality of life (using EuroQol 5D [EQ-5D]) and work/activity days lost were assessed. Agreement between patients' and HCPs' responses to survey questions was tested using kappa statistics., Results: Data from 812 patients were examined. Significantly more patients versus HCPs reported oral glucocorticoid use (25.9% vs. 20.8%, κ = 0.735, P < 0.0001). Long-term use of oral glucocorticoids was similar for patients versus HCPs (67.7% vs. 63.8%, κ = 0.598, P = 0.53). Immunosuppressant use was 52.4% vs. 51.1% (κ = 0.784) and biologics use was 49.5% vs. 47.0% (κ = 0.909) for patients vs. HCPs. Patients and HCPs reported greater rates of symptom improvement with vs without biologic therapy (patients: 33.3% vs 16.8%; HCPs: 29.3% vs 13.5%, both P < 0.001). Patients with versus without routine follow-up were less likely to be treated with long-term glucocorticoid monotherapy (10.3% vs. 20.7%, P < 0.01) and had fewer lost work/activity days (5 vs. 8 days, P < 0.05)., Conclusions: Patients reported more oral glucocorticoid use than physicians thought. Routine follow-up and higher rates of biologic use are associated with improvement in disease symptoms and general health among patients with CD.

Background: The infliximab biosimilar CT-P13 was approved for use in Crohn's disease after clinical comparison with originator infliximab in ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis; however, concerns about such indication extrapolation have been expressed. This study investigated whether CT-P13 is non-inferior to infliximab in patients with Crohn's disease who were naive to biological therapy., Methods: In this randomised, multicentre, double-blind, phase 3 non-inferiority study, we enrolled patients with active Crohn's disease who had not responded to, or were intolerant to, non-biological treatments. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1:1) to receive CT-P13 then CT-P13, CT-P13 then infliximab, infliximab then infliximab, or infliximab then CT-P13, with switching occurring at week 30. Patients received 5 mg/kg CT-P13 or infliximab at weeks 0, 2, 6, and then every 8 weeks up to week 54. The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with a decrease of 70 points or more in Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) from baseline to week 6. A non-inferiority margin of -20% was set (CT-P13 was non-inferior to infliximab if the lower limit of the two-sided 95% CI for the treatment difference was greater than -20). This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02096861, and is completed., Findings: Between Aug 20, 2014, and Feb 15, 2017, 308 patients were assessed for eligibility, and 220 patients were enrolled: 111 were randomly assigned to initiate CT-P13 (56 to the CT-P13-CT-P13 group and 55 to the CT-P13-infliximab group) and 109 to initiate infliximab (54 to the infliximab-infliximab group and 55 to the infliximab-CT-P13 group). CDAI-70 response rates at week 6 were similar for CT-P13 (77 [69·4%, 95% CI 59·9 to 77·8] of 111) and infliximab (81 [74·3%, 95% CI 65·1 to 82·2] of 109; difference -4·9% [95% CI -16·9 to 7·3]), thereby establishing non-inferiority. Over the total study period, 147 (67%) patients experienced at least one treatment-emergent adverse event (36 [64%] in the CT-P13-CT-P13 group, 34 [62%] in the CT-P13-infliximab group, 37 [69%] in the infliximab-infliximab group, and 40 [73%] in the infliximab-CT-P13 group)., Interpretation: This study showed non-inferiority of CT-P13 to infliximab in patients with active Crohn's disease. Biosimilar CT-P13 could be a new option for the treatment of active Crohn's disease., Funding: Celltrion, Pfizer., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Neutralising pro-inflammatory interleukin-6 (IL-6) may effectively treat Crohn's disease (CD). Effects of PF-04236921, an anti-IL-6 antibody, in adults with CD are reported., Design: Parallel-group, dose-ranging, double-blind trial with 4-week screening and 12-week treatment periods. After induction, patients entered 28-week follow-up or 48-week open-label extension (OLE) with 28-week follow-up. Adults with confirmed CD and inadequate response to anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) therapy were included. Induction study : 249 patients randomised 1:1:1:1 to placebo, PF-04236921 10, 50 or 200 mg by subcutaneous injection on days 1 and 28. OLE study : PF-04236921 50 mg every 8 weeks up to six doses followed by 28-week follow-up., Results: 247 patients were randomised and received treatment in the induction study. The 200 mg dose was discontinued due to safety findings in another study (NCT01405196) and was not included in the primary efficacy analysis. Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI)-70 response rates with PF-04236921 50 mg were significantly greater than placebo at weeks 8 (49.3% vs 30.6%, P<0.05) and 12 (47.4% vs 28.6%, P<0.05) and met the primary end point. Week 12 CDAI remission rates with PF-04236921 50 mg and placebo were 27.4% and 10.9%, respectively (16.5% difference; P<0.05). 191 subjects received treatment in the OLE. Common treatment-emergent and serious adverse events in both studies included worsening CD, abdominal pain and nasopharyngitis., Conclusions: PF-04236921 50 mg induced clinical response and remission in refractory patients with moderate-to-severe CD following failure of anti-TNF therapy. GI abscess and perforation were observed, a specific focus of attention during future clinical development., Trial Registration Number: NCT01287897 and NCT01345318., Competing Interests: Competing interests: SD is a speaker, consultant and advisory board member for Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie, Actelion, Alphawasserman, AstraZeneca, Cellerix, Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, Ferring, Genentech, Grunenthal, Hospira, Johnson and Johnson, Merck & Co, Millennium Takeda, Mundipharma, Novo Nordisk, Nycomed, Pharmacosmos, Pfizer, Schering-Plough, UCB Pharma and Vifor. SV received research support from AbbVie, MSD and Takeda and received consultancy and/or speaker honoraria from AbbVie, Celgene, Centocor, Ferring, Galapagos, Genentech/Roche, Hospira, MSD, Mundipharma, Pfizer, Shire and Takeda. PH is a consultant and/or advisory board participant for, and/or has received speaker honoraria, research support and/or educational grants from, Cubist, Evoke, Ferring, Forest, Furiex, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Intercept, Ironwood, Menarini, Nature Coast Clinical Research, Pfizer, Rhythm, Salix, Synergy, Takeda, Theravance and Vivus. RP is a consultant for and/or received lecture fees from Abbott, AbbVie, Allergan, Amgen, AstraZeneca, Axcan Pharma, Biogen Idec, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Centocor, ChemoCentryx, Eisai Medical Research, ELAN, Ferring, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Janssen, Millennium, MSD, Ocera Therapeutics, Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Shire Pharmaceuticals, Prometheus, Robarts Clinical Trials, Schering-Plough, Synta Pharmaceuticals, Takeda, Teva, UCB Pharma and Warner Chilcott. GR is a consultant for Abbott, AbbVie, Augurix, Boehringer, Calypso, FALK, Ferring, Fisher, Genentech, Essex/MSD, Novartis, Pfizer, Phadia, Roche, Takeda, Tillots, UCB, Vifor, Vital Solutions and Zeller; received speaker honoraria from AstraZeneca, Abbott, AbbVie, FALK, MSD, Phadia, Tillots, UCB and Vifor; and received educational grants and research grants from Abbot, AbbVie, Ardeypharm, Augurix, Calypso, Essex/MSD, FALK, Flamentera, Novartis, Roche, Takeda, Tillots, UCB and Zeller. AK received educational grants from AbbVie, MSD and Takeda. PD participated in advisory boards for, and received fees and grants from, AbbVie, Biofortis, BioMérieux Danone, Ferring, Genfit, Intralytix, Kitozyme, Lesaffre, MSD, Norgine, OmegaPharma International, Pileje, PPM, Roquette, Takeda and TxCell. RWL participated in advisory boards for AbbVie, Aspen, Ferring, Janssen, Hospira and Takeda and received research support from Janssen, NHMRC Career Development Fellowship and Shire. SS received consultancy fees from AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer, Ferring, Genentech/Roche, Pfizer, MSD/Janssen, Takeda and UCB and lecture fees from AbbVie, MSD/Janssen, Takeda and UCB. AB, MKM, CL, NR and JB are all employees of Pfizer Inc and hold stock or options in Pfizer Inc. GMC and FC are former employees of Pfizer Inc and FC is a current employee of Shire Pharmaceuticals. GF has no conflicts of interest to report. GMC has been a consultant for Adare, Albireo, AstraZeneca, CinRx, Cutis, OrphoMed, Second Genome, Strongbridge and Zealand., (© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2019. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.)

Objective: This phase II, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of PF-00547659, a fully human monoclonal antibody that binds to human mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule (MAdCAM) to selectively reduce lymphocyte homing to the intestinal tract, in patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease (CD)., Design: Eligible adults were aged 18-75 years, with active moderate-to-severe CD (Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) 220-450), a history of failure or intolerance to antitumour necrosis factor and/or immunosuppressive agents, high-sensitivity C reactive protein >3.0 mg/L and ulcers on colonoscopy. Patients were randomised to PF-00547659 22.5 mg, 75 mg or 225 mg or placebo. The primary endpoint was CDAI 70-point decrease from baseline (CDAI-70) at week 8 or 12., Results: In all, 265 patients were eligible for study entry. Although CDAI-70 response was not significantly different with placebo versus PF-00547659 treatment at weeks 8 or 12, remission rate was greater in patients with higher baseline C reactive protein (>5 mg/L vs >18.8 mg/L, respectively). Soluble MAdCAM decreased significantly from baseline to week 2 in a dose-related manner and remained low during the study in PF-00547659-treated patients. Circulating β 7 + CD4+ central memory T-lymphocytes increased at weeks 8 and 12 with PF-00547659 treatment. No safety signal was seen., Conclusions: Clinical endpoint differences between PF-00547659 and placebo did not reach statistical significance in patients with moderate-to-severe CD. PF-00547659 was pharmacologically active, as shown by a sustained dose-related decrease in soluble MAdCAM and a dose-related increase in circulating β 7 + central memory T cells., Trial Registration Number: NCT01276509; Results., Competing Interests: Competing interests: WJS has received grant support, personal fees and non-financial support from Pfizer during the conduct of the study; grant support from Pfizer, Exact Sciences, Amgen, the American College of Gastroenterology and the Broad Foundation; grant support and personal fees from Prometheus Laboratories, AbbVie, Boehringer Ingelheim, Takeda, Atlantic Pharmaceuticals, Janssen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genentech and Nutrition Science Partners and personal fees from Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Celgene Cellular Therapeutics, Santarus, Salix Pharmaceuticals, Catabasis Pharmaceuticals, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Warner Chilcott, Gilead Sciences, Cosmo Pharmaceuticals, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Sigmoid Biotechnologies, Tillotts Pharma, Am Pharma BV, Dr August Wolff, Avaxia Biologics, Zyngenia, Ironwood Pharmaceuticals, Index Pharmaceuticals, Nestle, Lexicon Pharmaceuticals, UCB Pharma, Orexigen, Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, Baxter Healthcare, Ferring Research Institute, Amgen, Novo Nordisk, Mesoblast, Shire, Ardelyx, Actavis, Seattle Genetics, MedImmune (AstraZeneca), Actogenix NV, Lipid Therapeutics Gmbh, Eisai, Qu Biologics, Toray Industries, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly, Chiasma, TiGenix, Adherion Therapeutics, Immune Pharmaceuticals, Celgene, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Ambrx, Akros Pharma, Vascular Biogenics, Theradiag, Forward Pharma, Regeneron, Galapagos, Seres Health, Ritter Pharmaceuticals, Theravance, Palatin, Biogen and the University of Western Ontario (owner of Robarts Clinical Trials) outside the submitted work. In addition, WJS reports patents related to the use of topical azathioprine to treat inflammatory bowel disorders (US 5,691,343), topical formulations of azathioprine to treat inflammatory bowel disorders (US 5,905,081), colonic delivery of nicotine to treat inflammatory bowel disease (South African patent 97/1020; US 5,846,983, 5,889,028 and 6,166,044; Mexico patent 209636; Europe patents 0954337 and 893998; Hong Kong patent HK1019043; China patent ZL97192177; Czech patent 293616; Canada patent 2,246,235), the use of azathioprine to treat Crohn’s disease (US 5,733,915), azathioprine compositions for colonic administration (New Zealand patent 306062; Singapore patent 45647; Australia patent 707168; Czech patent 290428), intestinal absorption of nicotine to treat nicotine responsive conditions (Australia patent 718052; US 6,238,689), the use of topical azathioprine and thioguanine to treat colorectal adenomas (US 6,166,024), enema and enterically coated oral dosage forms of azathioprine (US 6,432,967), a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (US 7,341,741), intestinal absorption of nicotine to treat nicotine responsive conditions (Canada patent 2,260,909) and obesity treatment and device (US 7,803,195 B2). SDL has received financial support for research from UCB, Janssen, Abbvie, Genentech, Amgen, Takeda and Pfizer; and consulting fees from UCB, Janssen and Takeda. DT reported no disclosures. EL has received educational grants from MSD, Abbvie; speaker fees from Abbvie, Ferring, MSD, Chiesi, Mitsubishi Pharma, Hospira, Janssen and Takeda and has served on advisory boards for Abbvie, Ferring, MSD, Takeda, Mitsubishi Pharma, Celltrion and Prometheus. MK has received speaker fees from Abbvie, Alvogen, Ferring and Takeda and fees for travel/accommodations/meeting expenses from Ferring, Alvogen and Abbvie. JK reported no disclosures. WR has received financial support for research from Abbott Laboratories, Abbvie, Aesca, Centocor, Falk Pharma GmbH, Immundiagnsotik and MSD; has served as a consultant for Abbott Laboratories, Abbvie, Aesca, Amgen, AM Pharma, Astellas, AstraZeneca, Avaxia, Bioclinica, Biogen IDEC, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cellerix, Chemocentryx, Celgene, Centocor, Celltrion, Covance, Danone Austria, Elan, Falk Pharma GmbH, Ferring, Galapagos, Genentech, Gilead, Grünenthal, ICON, Index Pharma, Inova, Janssen, Johnson & Johnson, Kyowa Hakko Kirin Pharma, Lipid Therapeutics, MedImmune, Millenium, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, MSD, Nestle, Novartis, Ocera, Otsuka, PDL, Pharmacosmos, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Prometheus, Robarts Clinical Trial, Schering-Plough, Second Genome, Setpointmedical, Takeda, Therakos, Tigenix, UCB, Vifor, Zyngenia and 4S and as a speaker for Abbott Laboratories, Abbvie, Aesca, Aptalis, Centocor, Celltrion, Danone Austria, Elan, Falk Pharma GmbH, Ferring, Immundiagnostik, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, MSD, Otsuka, PDL, Pharmacosmos, Schering-Plough, Shire, Takeda, Therakos, Vifor and Yakult. XH has served on advisory boards for Abbvie, Fresenius Kabi, Janssens and Takeda and has participated in educational activities for Abbvie, Arard, Ferring, Fresenius Kabi, Mayoly Spindler, MSD, Nestlé, Norgine, Nutricia and Takeda. DIP reported no disclosures. SS has received consulting/speaker fees from AbbVie, Biogen, BMS, Boehringer, Celltrion, Ferring, Hospira/Pfizer, Jansen, Merck, Novartis, Takeda and UCB. SN, AB, LSB and MHZ are employees of Pfizer. AA, FC,KJG, JBC and RC were employees of Pfizer during the OPERA study. GRD’H has served as a consultant for Abbvie, Ablynx, Amakem, AM Pharma, Avaxia, Biogen, Bristol Myers Squibb, Boerhinger Ingelheim, Celgene, Celltrion, Cosmo, Covidien, Ferring, Dr FALK Pharma, Engene, Ferring, Galapagos, Gilead, GlaxoSmithKline, Hospira, Johnson and Johnson, Medimetrics, Millenium/Takeda, Mitsubishi Pharma, Merck Sharp Dome, Mundipharma, Novonordisk, Pfizer, Prometheus laboratories/Nestle, Receptos, Robarts Clinical Trials, Salix, Sandoz, Setpoint, Shire, Teva, Tigenix, Tillotts, Topivert, Versant and Vifor and has received speaker fees from Abbvie, Ferring, Johnson and Johnson, Merck Sharp Dome, Mundipharma, Norgine, Pfizer, Shire, Millenium/Takeda, Tillotts and Vifor., (© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.)

The present review by the IBD-Dach group provides a comprehensive summary of the mode of action, clinical development, approval, efficacy and safety aspects of the novel anti-p40 antibody Ustekinumab. The review provides current data, including the large clinical trials as well as smaller case series and work outside the field of inflammatory bowel diseases for shedding more light into special situations. Together, the data indicate that Ustekinumab shows clinical efficacy as well as a good safety profile for the treatment of Crohn's disease., Competing Interests: Britta Siegmund: received a research grant from Pfizer, served as consultant for Falk, Janssen, MSD, Abbvie, Celgene, Lilly, Takeda, Pfizer, Hospira and received lecture fees from Abbvie, Falk, Ferring, Janssen, MSD, Merck, Takeda; all money went to the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. Christoph Högenauer: Beratungs- und Vortragstätigkeit für Janssen-Cilag Pharma GmbHGottfried Novacek: Advisory Board/Speaker: Janssen, MSD, Abbvie, Falk, Pfizer, ViforWolfgang Petritsch: Abbvie, Astro-Pharma, Falk, Ferring, Janssen, MSD, Takeda und ViforWalter Reinisch: has received research funding from Abbott Laboratories, Abbvie, Aesca, Centocor, Falk Pharma GmbH, Immundiagnsotik, and MSD; WR has served as a speaker for Abbott Laboratories, Abbvie, Aesca, Aptalis, Centocor, Celltrion, Danone Austria, Elan, Falk Pharma GmbH, Ferring, Immundiagnostik, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, MSD, Otsuka, PDL, Pharmacosmos, Schering-Plough, Shire, Takeda, Therakos, Vifor, and Yakult; WR has served as a consultant for Abbott Laboratories, Abbvie, Aesca, Amgen, AM Pharma, Astellas, Astra Zeneca, Avaxia, Bioclinica, Biogen IDEC, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cellerix, Chemocentryx, Celgene, Centocor, Celltrion, Covance, Danone Austria, Elan, Falk Pharma GmbH, Ferring, Galapagos, Genentech, Gilead, Grünenthal, ICON, Index Pharma, Inova, Janssen, Johnson & Johnson, Kyowa Hakko Kirin Pharma, Lipid Therapeutics, MedImmune, Millenium, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, MSD, Nestle, Novartis, Ocera, Otsuka, PDL, Pharmacosmos, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Prometheus, Robarts Clinical Trial, Schering-Plough, Second Genome, Setpointmedical, Takeda, Therakos, Tigenix, UCB, Vifor, Zyngenia, and 4SC; and WR has served as an advisory board member for Abbott Laboratories, Abbvie, Aesca, Amgen, AM Pharma, Astellas, Astra Zeneca, Avaxia, Biogen IDEC, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Cellerix, Chemocentryx, Celgene, Centocor, Celltrion, Danone Austria, Elan, Ferring, Galapagos, Genentech, Grünenthal, Inova, Janssen, Johnson & Johnson, Kyowa Hakko Kirin Pharma, Lipid Therapeutics, MedImmune, Millenium, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation, MSD, Nestle, Novartis, Ocera, Otsuka, PDL, Pharmacosmos, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Prometheus, Schering-Plough, Second Genome, Setpointmedical, Takeda, Therakos, Tigenix, UCB, Zyngenia, and 4SCAlain Schoepfer: Advisory Board: Vifor, Abbvie, MSD, UCB in der SchweizStefan Schreiber received consultancy fees from AbbVie, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer, Ferring, Genentech/Roche, Pfizer, MSD/Janssen, Takeda and UCB and lecture fees from AbbVie, MSD/Janssen, Takeda and UCBStephan Vavricka: Consulting fees, payment for lectures, support for travel to meetings, advisory boards, unrestricted research grants: Abbott, Ferring, MSD, Pfizer, Takeda, Tillots, UCB, ViforBernd Bokemeyer: Consulting Fee: Abbvie, MSD, Shire, Ferring, UCB, Hospira,Takeda, Shield Therapeutics, Pfizer, Biogen, Janssen, Hexal, Cellgene; Allergan, Boehringer, Falk Speaking and Teaching: Abbvie, Ferring, MSD, Merckle, Falk, HLR, Grant/Research: Abbvie, Ferring, UCB, Janssen, Takeda, (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Background and Aims: Matrix metalloproteinase-9 [MMP9] is implicated in the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease and may serve as a potential biomarker. A phase 2 trial was conducted to examine the efficacy and safety of the anti-MMP9 antibody andecaliximab [GS-5745] in patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease., Methods: Patients were randomized 1:2:2:2 to receive subcutaneous injections of placebo weekly [QW], andecaliximab 150 mg every 2 weeks [Q2W], andecaliximab 150 mg QW, or andecaliximab 300 mg QW.The co-primary study efficacy endpoints were evaluation of a clinical response, defined as liquid or very soft stool frequency and abdominal pain composite [from Patient-Reported Outcome 2] score ≤ 8 at week 8, and an endoscopic response, defined as a ≥ 50% reduction from baseline in the Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn's Disease, following 8 weeks of treatment., Results: A total of 187 participants were randomized to treatment; 53 participants were randomized to each andecaliximab treatment group and 28 participants were randomized to placebo. Proportions of patients receiving andecaliximab were not different from proportions of patients receiving placebo based on clinical and endoscopic response and Crohn's disease activity index-defined remission at week 8. Rates of adverse events were comparable among the andecaliximab and placebo groups., Conclusions: Eight weeks of induction treatment with 150 mg andecaliximab Q2W, 150 mg andecaliximab QW, or 300 mg andecaliximab QW in patients with Crohn's disease did not induce a clinically meaningful symptomatic or endoscopic response. Andecaliximab was well tolerated., Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02405442., (© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Crohn’s and Colitis Organisation.)

As part of a broader collaborative network of exome sequencing studies, we developed a jointly called data set of 5,685 Ashkenazi Jewish exomes. We make publicly available a resource of site and allele frequencies, which should serve as a reference for medical genetics in the Ashkenazim (hosted in part at https://ibd.broadinstitute.org, also available in gnomAD at http://gnomad.broadinstitute.org). We estimate that 34% of protein-coding alleles present in the Ashkenazi Jewish population at frequencies greater than 0.2% are significantly more frequent (mean 15-fold) than their maximum frequency observed in other reference populations. Arising via a well-described founder effect approximately 30 generations ago, this catalog of enriched alleles can contribute to differences in genetic risk and overall prevalence of diseases between populations. As validation we document 148 AJ enriched protein-altering alleles that overlap with "pathogenic" ClinVar alleles (table available at https://github.com/macarthur-lab/clinvar/blob/master/output/clinvar.tsv), including those that account for 10-100 fold differences in prevalence between AJ and non-AJ populations of some rare diseases, especially recessive conditions, including Gaucher disease (GBA, p.Asn409Ser, 8-fold enrichment); Canavan disease (ASPA, p.Glu285Ala, 12-fold enrichment); and Tay-Sachs disease (HEXA, c.1421+1G>C, 27-fold enrichment; p.Tyr427IlefsTer5, 12-fold enrichment). We next sought to use this catalog, of well-established relevance to Mendelian disease, to explore Crohn's disease, a common disease with an estimated two to four-fold excess prevalence in AJ. We specifically attempt to evaluate whether strong acting rare alleles, particularly protein-truncating or otherwise large effect-size alleles, enriched by the same founder-effect, contribute excess genetic risk to Crohn's disease in AJ, and find that ten rare genetic risk factors in NOD2 and LRRK2 are enriched in AJ (p < 0.005), including several novel contributing alleles, show evidence of association to CD. Independently, we find that genomewide common variant risk defined by GWAS shows a strong difference between AJ and non-AJ European control population samples (0.97 s.d. higher, p<10-16). Taken together, the results suggest coordinated selection in AJ population for higher CD risk alleles in general. The results and approach illustrate the value of exome sequencing data in case-control studies along with reference data sets like ExAC (sites VCF available via FTP at ftp.broadinstitute.org/pub/ExAC&#95;release/release0.3/) to pinpoint genetic variation that contributes to variable disease predisposition across populations., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.