Adalimumab May Help Maintain Remission in Crohn's Disease - Medscape

What To Know

This Medscape article reports on a systematic review and network meta-analysis (37 randomized trials, 7,415 participants) published in Therapeutic Advances in Gastroenterology comparing maintenance therapies for Crohn’s disease. Adalimumab was associated with a lower risk of clinical relapse versus placebo (RR 0.68) with moderate-certainty evidence.

Upadacitinib showed high-certainty evidence for reducing loss of clinical response. Several other agents (CT-P13 [a biosimilar], natalizumab, certolizumab, ustekinumab) were also linked to reduced risk for loss of response in the analysis.

The review pooled multiple doses and varied trial populations and follow-up times; most included patients had prior biologic exposure. Safety analyses did not find clear increases in withdrawals, serious adverse events, or total adverse events across studies.

If you’re on or considering maintenance therapy, these results summarize evidence across many trials but do not replace personalized medical advice. Discuss therapy choices, prior biologic exposure, and dosing with your clinician.

Who to talk to about this article: your gastroenterologist or IBD specialist if you’re managing Crohn’s disease, particularly patients on or switching biologic or JAK-inhibitor therapies.