Treatment options for patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn disease (CD) have increased considerably in recent years with the advent of new biologics, but little is known about treatment pathways in clinical practice. We aimed to characterize treatment patterns and sequences in patients with UC or CD newly initiated on a biologic or an immunosuppressant (IMS).
This retrospective cohort study used US health insurance claims data dated from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2013, from patients with UC or CD newly initiated on a biologic or an IMS. Treatment patterns and sequences were described during a 24-month follow-up period.
Among 5543 patients with UC and 7561 patients with CD, 2403 and 4677 patients, respectively, were initiated on a biologic; 3140 and 2884 patients were initiated on an IMS. In patients initiated on a biologic, monotherapy was chosen in 71% for UC (primarily infliximab [68%]) and in 79% for CD (primarily adalimumab [52%]). Approximately one third of patients remained on the first-line biologic during the follow-up period; 69% (UC) and 70% (CD) of patients were initiated on a second-line therapy, among whom 25% (UC) and 39% (CD) received a different biologic monotherapy, suggesting intolerance, inadequate response, or loss of response to first-line therapy. In patients initiated on an IMS, 58% (UC) and 66% (CD) were initiated on monotherapy; combination therapy with a corticosteroid was prescribed in 41% (UC) and 30% (CD) of patients; and second-line therapy was initiated in 72% (UC) and 75% (CD) of patients.
While current treatment options seem effective in a proportion of patients with UC and CD, others require multiple lines of therapy, suggesting anunmet need for alternative treatments in UC and CD to achieve disease control.