San Diego—Ustekinumab, a human antibody used to treat arthritis, significantly induces response and remission in patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn’s disease, according to a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers and colleagues point out that a high percentage of the patients in the study who had not responded to conventional therapies were in clinical remission after only a single dose of intravenous ustekinumab. Crohn’s disease is usually treated with glucocorticoids, immunosuppressants, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists, or integrin inhibitors. Downsides of those therapies include an increased risk of infection and cancer, and limited efficacy, according to the industry-sponsored study, which notes that ustekinumab has not been associated with an increased risk of serious adverse events.

« Click here to return to The MTM Review.